Paul Turounet

Paul Turounet received his MFA in Photography from the Yale University School of Art in 1995. For the following fifteen years, he photographed in Mexico along the U.S. - Mexico border, for which he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1997 and grants from the Trans-Border Institute in 2003 and 2004.

This work, including Estamos Buscando A, Bajo La Luna Verde and Tierra Brava, considers the psychology and culture of the U.S – Mexico border exclusively in Mexico and has been featured in various solo and group exhibitions in both the United States and Mexico, including the New Mexico State University Art Gallery in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Regis University in Denver, Colorado, the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona, the University of Texas – Brownsville, Centro Cultural Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico, and the Museo de Arte El Chamizal in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

His 2016 self-published book, Estamos Buscando A, was shortlisted and a runner-up for the 2016 Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Award, and was included on the New York Times – The Best Photo Books of 2016.

His most recent work, Somewhere Out There, Something Is Happening, is an ongoing series that explores our inherent spirit and the psyche of the contemporary American social scene during a time of hope and change and whether what is past is truly prologue. Selections from the series have recently been exhibited at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana and the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.

Paul Turounet is a Professor of Art and Photography at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California. He has previously taught at the University of San Diego and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Guadalajara, Mexico for the University of San Diego’s Guadalajara Summer Program.

Education

1995 Yale University School of Art, MFA Photography
1985 San Jose State University, BA Journalism/Advertising

Solo/Two Person Exhibitions

2017 Estamos Buscando A, Museum of Contemporary Art - Tucson, Tucson, AZ (Scheduled)
2015 Between Here and There | Paul Turounet | Terri Warpinski, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
2014 Tierra Brava, Regis University, Denver, CO
2013 Gardens of Paradise, jdc Fine Art, San Diego, CA
Tierra Brava, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
2009 Estamos Buscando A - We’re Looking For, West Chester University, West Chester, PA
2006 Estamos Buscando A - We’re Looking For, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
2004 Estamos Buscando A - We’re Looking For, Site-specific installations along U.S.-Mexico border, Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico
2002 Los Vendimiadores - The Grapepickers, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
2000 Un Extraño Aquí - A Stranger Here, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
1999 Un Extraño Aquí - A Stranger Here, University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
1998 Un Extraño Aquí - A Stranger Here, Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico
Un Extraño Aquí - A Stranger Here, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
Un Extraño Aquí - A Stranger Here, Museo de Arte El Chamizal, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
1991 Los Vendimiadores - The Grapepickers, Center for Photography, UC-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Group Exhibitions

2017 The Dazzle of the Day, Southwestern Art Gallery, Chula Vista, CA (Scheduled)
Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, College of Art and Design, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA (Scheduled)
Circus, SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA
Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, Landskrona Foto Festival, Landskrona, Sweden
Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Le Locle, Switzerland
Weather on Steroids: The Art of Climate Change Science, San Diego Central Library Gallery, San Diego, CA
Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, Lumière Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, Russia
Nowhere But Here, The Front Gallery, San Ysidro, CA
Weather on Steroids: The Art of Climate Change Science, La Jolla Historical Society, La Jolla, CA
INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks, Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ
2016 Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, Aperture Gallery, NY
Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2016, Ivorypress, Madrid, Spain
INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks, Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
2015 PAGES – Artist’s Books | Publications | Related Works, jdc Fine Art, San Diego, CA
Sinking, Sinking, Sinking, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA
SPE Combined Caucus Exhibition, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Spring Salon: Collectors Edition, jdc Fine Art, San Diego, CA
SPE Combined Caucus Exhibition, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
2015 San Diego Keeps Its Promise: Balboa Park at 100, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA
photo LA ( jdc Fine Art ), Los Angeles, CA
2014 Winter Exhibition, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA
INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks, Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ
New Orleans in Photography, Moscow House of Photography, Moscow, Russia
photo LA ( jdc Fine Art ), Los Angeles, CA
2013 Art San Diego 13 ( jdc Fine Art ), San Diego, CA
Acerca de la Cerca / About the Fence, Mesa College, San Diego, CA
2012 Beyond The Border, Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, AZ
Points of View: Looking Across The Border, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
2011 The Border Project: Soundscapes, Landscapes, and Lifescapes, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2007 Cultural Fusion: Exploring the Multi-Cultural Influences on the Arts of this Region, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, CA
Field Work - Documenting California's Migrant Farm Labor Experience 1935 - 2003, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

Fellowships & Grants

2016 Shortlisted for Paris Photo – Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Award
2003 Trans-Border Institute Grant
2002 Trans-Border Institute Grant
1997 Fulbright Fellowship | Mexico

Lectures, Artist Talks & Panel Discussions

2017 Open Show 4, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA
2015 San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
2014 California State University - Long Beach, Long Beach, CA (Panel)
Regis University, Denver, CO
2013 Mesa College, San Diego, CA
University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA
2010 Society of Photographic Education West Regional Conference, San Diego, CA
2009 West Chester University, West Chester, PA
2008 National Communication Association Annual Convention, San Diego, CA
2006 Joan B. Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
2005 Western Humanities Conference, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (Panel)
Society for Photographic Education Annual Conference, Portland, OR
2004 Association for Borderland Studies Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT
2003 Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1999 University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
University of Texas at Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
1998 University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX

Teaching

Present - 2005 Professor of Art and Photography | Tenure – Spring 2009 Chair, Department of Visual Arts and Humanities | Served - Fall 2012 - Spring 2014 Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA
2010 - 2003 Invited Visiting Instructor of Photography Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico for the University of San Diego Guadalajara Summer Program
2005 - 2000 Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

For more information, please visit www.paulturounet.com.