Paula Menchen

Memory, textures, and surfaces play an essential role in my palette and visual language. Deconstructing and reconstructing pictorial space has become central to my research and studio practice. Through processes of sanding, cutting, burning, smoothing, and grinding, I transform surfaces into impressions, footprints, and traces—records of action and time. By rearranging fragments, I create tactile landscapes and complex surfaces that draws the viewer in, provoking a dialogue between what is seen and what is felt.
Born in East London, I immigrated to the United States at the age of two and grew up in Los Angeles. I earned my BFA from Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles and continued my studies at Parsons School of Design in New York. My work is held in collections in the United States, England, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, and has been exhibited internationally, including in Japan, Holland, and Italy.
Immigrating to the United States for a second time in 2022 sparked a renewed sense of curiosity and discovery around ideas of home and belonging—what feels familiar and what remains foreign, what is preserved and what is transformed. These experiences continue to shape my practice, informing an ongoing explora...

1992 BFA in Fine Arts
Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design, LA, CA

1990 Parsons School of Design in NYC, NY

2025 Mi-Lab Result Exhibition, Udatsu Museum
2025 Ripple River Gallery, MN
2025 Sausalito Art Gallery, CA
2025 Atrium Gallery, Artistry Theater and Visual Arts
2022 FLUX Exhibition, Design District, London, UK

2022 ̈Chroma ̈,Thomson Reuters C Art Gallery, MN 

2022 Art-A- Whirl, NE Minneapolis, MN

2021 AIR AGA LAB, AMS
2021 V2 - Exhibition- The Flux Review, UK

2020 AIR 3331 Project Space, Art Fair Tokyo, JP
2019 Konvent Residencia Summer
2019 Open Art Fridays, Cal Rosal, Spain

2019 Two Birds Gallery, Seville, Spain

2019 Flux Exhibition, Chelsea, London

2019 XXX Certamen de Pintura Málaga, Spain

2018 Caja Rural Granada, Spain

2018 CIHU” San Juan de Letrán” Ubrique, Spain

2018 Galeria 360 Galeria Firenze, Italy

2018 Aplama I Bienal de Dibujo Contemporáneo
2017 Permanent Collection Hotel Sol Don Pablo 

2017 Open Studio Artist In Residence AADK, Spain

2017 Amsterdam International Art Fair, NL 

2017 Open Studio Otis College Summer Residency, CA

2017 XVII Certamen Andaluz de Pintura, Spain

2016 XX Certamen de Pintura Cuidad de Antequera, Spain 
2016 36 Mini Print International de Cadaqués, Spain

2016 24 é Premi Telax Galeria Antoni Pinyol, Spain

2015 Kasser Rassu Gallery, Spain