Michael Paul’s solo exhibition “The Maze and Me” is on view at the Moab Arts Center Gallery through June 28. The show features intricate maze-based artworks that combine bold visual design with interactive elements. According to Moab Arts, the exhibition “challenges the viewer to look beyond the surface and follow the twists and turns of the maze to discover new perspectives.”
The show will hold a reception on Tuesday, June 24 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Moab Arts Center.
Moab Sun News: How did you get started making mazes?
Michael Paul: I’m not really a maze person! I have been a graphic designer since 1973 in terms of professional work. And I always liked to work in-house… but after a while it gets kind of boring, because you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
I did have access to lots of interesting graphic imagery and some of the technology back then. Every once in a while I would try a maze.
Moab Sun News: So the mazes started more as a visual experiment?
Michael Paul: Correct! This to me was a creative outlet that over the years has grown in a couple of different ways. Initially to create a nice bold graphic image, but then to combine it with a challenge to solve. So that’s kind of where it started.
Moab Sun News: The pieces in this show span a variety of styles. Was that a conscious decision?
Michael Paul: I have never been a fine artist, even though I have an arts degree… it’s more of an illustration, I would say. But I’ve tried to upgrade it so that it is an artistic illustration. And I work on the computer. So that has taken a number of years to learn to be able to manipulate imagery and create imagery…It’s good for my brain to have to learn things and figure out how to put some things together to make it interesting.
Moab Sun News: What’s your process like when starting a new piece?
Michael Paul: Like everybody else, anything I do starts with a line. So drawing the line — and then the line is usually black on white. Literally what I do is to let the line lead me a lot of times, and something develops…
At other points, like with one I used James Dean imagery, an image will present itself to me or I’ll seek out an image… It’s really random, which is great because maze is different.
Moab Sun News: How has it felt to see the work professionally installed in a gallery?
Michael Paul: It is totally amazing for me to see them presented together all in a single place. Treated with a certain amount of respect with frames and mats — which the poor things over the years never had that opportunity.
The wonderful people at the MARC took so much time to put them up and make them look respectable. It’s very validating.
Moab Sun News: What brought you to Moab?
Michael Paul: My kids bought a place in Pack Creek when my wife and I were living in China. We were visiting here when COVID hit—So we never went back to China. That was in 2020. Since then, we have helped our kids work the land and fallen in love with Moab.
Moab Sun News: Are you still making mazes?
Michael Paul: Right now, I have space to make a mess. So I’m working on possibly some painting and some sculpture. So that’s kind of what I’m looking forward to — and let the maze juices give them a rest for a little while.
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