Inspired by Abstract Expressionism and driven by deep curiosity, artist Michael Pauker has created an expansive oeuvre that is inclusive of abstract and figurative paintings, landscapes, sculptures, prints and collages constructed with scraps of aging historical documents, watercolor paints and found objects.
“As an artist, I am not a one-trick pony,” he has said. “Some artists find success doing one thing and stick just with it. But my curiosity is omnivorous. I’m driven by images I’ve never seen before, both abstract and figurative.”
Born in 1957 in New York, Pauker knew he wanted to be an artist from the age of 15. He earned his BFA from the State University of New York (SUNY), then in 1989, completed his MFA at Mills College (now Mills College at Northeastern University) in Oakland where he was awarded the City of Oakland Fellowship in Painting.
Since 1988, Pauker has lived and worked in the Bay Area, teaching art in various venues such as schools, colleges and institutions including the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, the state’s prison hospital, for several years. When he isn’t teaching, Pauker focuses on creating art — the mediums of which can change by the moment.
While he works in oil on canvas for most of his paintings, Pauker is also known for his “Miniature Collage” series. He has worked on this series for more than a decade. Other works include abstract drawings and figurative watercolors blended with collages of vintage paper, stamps and found objects — his Oesterreich II is an example of the latter.
Pauker has exhibited widely across the United States, Japan and Costa Rica, and his works are held in the public collections of many institutions including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Find authentic Michael Pauker art on 1stDibs.
Multi-Color Abstract Expressionist Horizontal Landscape
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold multi-color abstract expressionist oil painting illustrating vivid colors of gold, magenta, teal and yellows by Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). This high octane colorful hor...
Canvas, Oil
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
"Artist's Dream IV" Reclined Figure on Beach, Contemporary Surreal Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Dramatic contemporary surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). The nude figure reclines in the fetal...
Canvas, Oil
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
Artist's Dream VI - Frolicking on the Beach, Surreal Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist as a nude figure on the beach in a dynamic pose by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Unsigned, b...
Canvas, Oil
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
"Artist's Dream III", Surreal Figurative w Self-Portrait & Classical Sculpture
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Contemporary surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist at work with his palette, beside a classical sculpture bust with column by Bay Area artist Michael P...
Canvas, Oil
Artist's Dream - Nude Figure on Beach, Surreal Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist dreaming on a beach with his palette, with a group of figures in the distance by Bay Area artist Mich...
Canvas, Oil
$3,150
Artist's Dream VIII - Waking Up, Contemporary Surreal Self-Portrait on Beach
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Contemporary surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). The reclining nude male...
Canvas, Oil
$760Sale Price|20% Off
Dracaena, Botanical Garden Plant Still-Life
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Fun and expressive botanical still-life painting of a Dracaena plant in front of a window by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957), 1976. The bright green leaves are depi...
Canvas, Oil
Woman on the Beach - Expressive Contemporary Figure Painting in Oil
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Woman on the Beach - Expressive Contemporary Figure Painting in Oil Contemporary figurative landscape by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957.) A woman stands with her ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,120Sale Price|20% Off
Artist's Dream VII - "The Talking Cure", Contemporary Surreal Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
A contemporary surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Two figures appear in a surreal, dreamy beac...
Canvas, Oil
Contemporary Abstract Colorfield Landscape in Cream & Green
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
A striking contemporary two-toned colorfield abstract by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). A large neutral textured section in cream sits atop a wavy abstraction in...
Oil, Canvas
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
"Artist's Dream V" Nude Painting Nudes, Surreal Figurative with Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Contemporary surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist painting a figure, amongst several other figures in various poses in a dream-like beach setting by B...
Canvas, Oil
$1,150
Jungle Panorama, Contemporary Expressionist Horizontal Landscape with Trees
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
A lush, jungle setting bursting with plant life is depicted in panoramic view, in this horizontal botanical landscape by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957), c.1990s....
Canvas, Oil
Black and White Abstract Cityscape, Oil on Canvas, Post-War, Unframed
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale oil painting by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957). A series of grids and swirls create and industrial feeling landscape, as if the viewer is looking out ...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
Artist's Dream II - Figure Painting on Beach, Surreal Self-Portrait
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale surreal figurative landscape featuring a self-portrait of the artist at work with his palette, painting a sculpture of a nude figure on a beach by Bay Area artist Michael...
Canvas, Oil
$5,000
H 30 in W 24 in
"Aquinnah Fog" oil painting of red brick lighthouse in nature shining light
By Rob Brooks
Located in Edgartown, MA
From an incandescent sunset on Long Island Sound to an iconic pop-kitsch ice storage bin at the neighborhood corner store, Rob Brooks offers us a visual journey from the real to surr...
Canvas, Oil
$5,109
H 39.77 in W 29.93 in D 0.6 in
Original Oil-Having aCigarette amongst LimeTrees-British Awarded Artist-Framed
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
Summer 2024, the avenue of 130-year-old Lime trees surrounding Shizico’s new cottage Garden captivated and inspired Shizico Yi to paint on a larger scale; with t...
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$4,995
H 36 in W 48 in
"Northern Breeze" (2025), Original Contemporary Barn, Oil Painting on Canvas
By Justin Wheatley
Located in Denver, CO
Justin Wheatley's "Good Morning" is an original, handmade acrylic painting depicting a city scene with a basketball hoop. Justin Wheatley was born and raised in Clinton, Utah. He ho...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 25.59 in W 22.05 in D 1.38 in
Provence Landscape Oil on Canvas Painting by Jean Navarre
By Jean Navarre
Located in Atlanta, GA
A luminous Provençal landscape by Jean Navarre (1914–2000), this expressive oil on canvas captures the sun‑drenched path known as "Le Chemin du Terme in F...
Canvas, Oil
$1,513
H 7.09 in W 7.88 in D 0.79 in
Feminine & Masculine XV - Modern Figurative Oil Painting, Beach View, Realism
By Julita Malinowska
Located in Hallein, AT
Artodyssey "Julita Malinowska's paintings belong to those, which once seen - are never forgotten. The open spaces, sometimes cool and bright, at other times heavily saturated with co...
Canvas, Oil
$3,183
H 31.5 in W 23.63 in D 2.37 in
Untitled 01 - Contemporary, Organic, Black, Minimalist, Abstract, Monochrome
By Zsolt Berszán
Located in Baden-Baden, DE
Untitled 01, 2017 Black adhesive and black oil on canvas (Signed on reverse) 31 1/2 H x 23 5/8 H in. 80 H x 60 W cm Zsolt Berszán treats the first layer of the drawing as a substrat...
Canvas, Adhesive, Oil
$6,537
H 27.56 in W 43.31 in D 0.79 in
Couple I - Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Beach View, Love, Realism, Joy
By Julita Malinowska
Located in Hallein, AT
Artodyssey "Julita Malinowska's paintings belong to those, which once seen - are never forgotten. The open spaces, sometimes cool and bright, at other times heavily saturated with co...
Canvas, Oil
$2,452
H 25.6 in W 17.72 in D 1.42 in
Original-Primary Blue-White Butterfly-British Awarded Artist-Free frame service
By Shizico Yi
Located in London, GB
This painting comes with a free custom-made framing service and lowest flat-rate £22-25 worldwide shipping via Royal Mail; it would be insured during shipping. On top of that, it als...
Silver
$3,979
H 31.89 in W 39.77 in D 0.79 in
The Green Garden - Modern Landscape Oil Painting, Nature, English Garden
By Jerzy Mazur
Located in Hallein, AT
Jerzy Mazur was born in Kołobrzeg in 1964. He graduated from the State College of Fine Arts in Gdańsk at the sculpture department under the supervision of prof. Franciszek Duszeńko. Jerzy Mazur is an artist in whose work man has made a permanent home. His sculptures, bas-reliefs, paintings and drawings are linked by a recurring motif of a female figure presented on a neutral background, standing or sitting, full of concentration, experiencing internal dilemmas. The artist always shows this figure as a naked figure...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$1,300
H 13.5 in W 11.5 in
Bo Zhang Abstract Original Oil Painting "Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger I"
By Bo Zhang
Located in New York, NY
Title: Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger I Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 13.5 x 11.5 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,100
H 11.5 in W 13.5 in
Bo Zhang Abstract Original Oil Painting "Freehand Landscape II"
By Bo Zhang
Located in New York, NY
Title: Freehand Landscape II Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 11.5 x 13.5 inches Frame: Framing options available! Condition: The painting appears to be in excellent condition. Note: This...
Canvas, Oil
$909
H 10.63 in W 15.75 in D 0.79 in
Seascape - Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Nature, Sea View
Located in Hallein, AT
Malgorzata Karp-Soja was born in Krakow, Poland. She Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, where studied painting under Prof. Stanislaw Wisniewski and drawing under Prof...
Canvas, Oil
$739
H 27.56 in W 19.69 in D 0.6 in
Contemporary semi-abstract nature mountains landscape oil painting on canvas
By Mougenot Natalya
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This painting, titled "Finding Serenity in Nature," is part of the Nature series by artist Natalya Mougenot, who uniquely celebrates the beauty of the natural world through her free,...
Canvas, Oil
$8,720
H 55.12 in W 78.75 in D 1.97 in
Low Water - Contemporary Impressionistic Painting of a Landscape
By Frank Dekkers
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Frank Dekkers Low Water 140 x 200 cm (not framed) oil on canvas On the pictures we also show you the artist receiving the flowers on our opening of this exhibition september 3th 202...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$2,785
H 21.66 in W 27.56 in D 0.79 in
The Tree 1 - Contemporary Landscape Painting, Nature, Trees, Warm Colours
By Bogumił Książek
Located in Hallein, AT
Bogumił Książek was educated at the Cracow’s Academy of Fine Arts (1995-2000). 2003 -2009 he lived and worked in Florence, Italy 2009 - 2020 he lives ...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Sold
H 48 in W 30 in D 1 in
Modern Urban Industrial Cubist Abstract Cityscape in Neutrals with Red
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale contemporary cubist abstract evoking an abstracted cityscape, with neutral geometric and linear forms punctuated by seven red accents, by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (...
Canvas, Oil
Abstract Landscape
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful blue, yellow and green abstract expressionist landscape painting depicting a yellow barn surrounded by blue skies and green grass by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (America...
Canvas, Oil