Garde Rail Gallery - Paul Cordes Wilm

Paul Cordes Wilm lives in Birmingham Alabama. A Southern native, Paul's an art school drop-out, director, film maker, musician and all around likable guy. We had a chance meeting in a parking lot of an antiques mall with Paul after spying a bunch of art piled up in the back of his pick-up. One thing lead to another and despite Paul almost being backed over by a disgruntled redneck (really!), and never having met us, he thought we seemed honest enough looking folk and consigned us work, Johnny-on-the-spot! Ah, the American dream realized.

We were drawn to the irony and wit found within his themes, and his of-the-moment topics. He's an obsessive collector of strange and random things (the day of our meeting he was on a mission for cave man-like accessories; his inspiration, the 1982 film "Quest for Fire") which oft times end up in his bold work. Fortunate Nobody's is a series based on vintage yearbook photos with subtle hints at getting Alabama up to speed in regards to reuse and recycling. The Cry Baby series explores the idea of grown men crying.

Paul is one of a handful of young Southern (mostly) self-taught artists working in an area that we like to call Pop Folk.