Paul Collins

Paul Collins is a Professor of Painting in the Department of Art & Design at Austin Peay State University (APSU). He holds an MFA from the Yale University School of Art. His artistic practice focuses on contemporary painting, installation, and public art, often exploring themes of light, form, and urban environments. Collins has exhibited widely, with solo shows including Be Still and Give Your Shadow a Break (2022) and Cardinal Shift (2021) at Red Arrow Gallery, Nashville. His work has also been featured in group exhibitions such as Number Magazine’s Art of the South (2018) and Grow Where You’re Planted (2017).

Collins has received the APSU Summer Research Fellows Program Award (2012) to support his participation in the Contemporary Curatorial Practice Workshop at Independent Curators International, New York. He has served as a Visiting Artist at institutions including Gallery Protocol (Gainesville, FL, 2015) and Anderson Ranch Arts Center (CO, 2014). His public art projects include the 100x20 mural Boomtown Beaver (2017) at Elephant Gallery, Nashville.

His artistic research often integrates urban landscapes and material experimentation, as seen in series like Cars and Shards (2015–2017), which explores nocturnal urban imagery through ink and watercolor. Collins maintains an active exhibition schedule, with upcoming works in the 2025 group exhibition UPKEEP at Elephant Gallery, Nashville.