Paul Broomfield is a painter and taxidermy assemblage artist who seeks out vintage and found objects to create his work.
Born in the fishing village of Emsworth, Hampshire in 1969, Paul's interest and fascination in the ocean and natural history, taxidermy and curiosities grew from an early age. One of his greatest influences was his grandfather who was an eel fisherman and painter.
Trained as a cabinet maker, Paul began a carving & gilding apprenticeship with David Goodman, the fine art framer and paintings conservator - framing art works for the Tate Gallery, the V & A and the National Gallery.
Paul worked as a freelance conservator for the National Trust and English Heritage for ten years before moving to France where he spent several years sourcing unusual antique objects at markets & brocantes, selling to clients in England and now using in his art.
Returning from France in 2007 Paul now lives and works in North Devon near the sea, surfing, collecting vintage surfboards and fishing. He is passionate about wildlife & our environment.
Assemblage Work
Paul’s works each make reference to a remembrance of an experience or moment in time that have captivated him; beliefs, involuntary memories, fantasies and imaginations.
Recurrent themes of interest such as myths and legends, the natural & spirit worlds and the passage of time are distilled within each ethereal tableau. The viewer is enticed to examine the found pieces, taxidermy and curios; enveloped in antiqued mirror, verre églomisé or textured, gilded and burnished surfaces; encased in glass-fronted vitrines as if protected and preserved artefacts.
Ordinary objects are exalted, partially adorned with real gold and silver; assembled in a surprising, yet deliberate, juxtaposition. The resulting compositions provoke consideration of the symbolic meanings the items have to tell. They represent an escape into the realm of imagination and place the key to memory in objects.
In Search of Lost Time.....