Artist Talk, Paul Deo: “Paul Deo and His New York City Murals”

Paul Deo is a NYC and New Orleans rooted visual artist who seeks to harness the communal, spiritual power of imagination through his video-based, multimedia projects, murals, sculptures and canvas works. He started his career as a scenic painter for motion pictures working for Spike Lee in the film Malcolm X under the tutelage of production designer Wynn Thomas. He is now well known for his innovative mixed-media murals, including the renowned Planet Harlem in New York City. He is currently breaking ground as an artist in residency at Harvard University, collaborating with the Art and Tech departments to produce a mixed-reality, digital mural to be unveiled in 2018. As a teacher in New York City, Paul is passionate about his work with incarcerated teens and refugee orphans from Guatemala and Honduras. In his words, his art “evokes the collective, drawing upon ancestral oral tradition as well as threads of modern mythology in order to establish a space for communal dialogue.” Evacuated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with his two children, Paul Deo & his family are now residing in Harlem, NY.