ABOUT
Paul Shih is an artist based in Australia. He was born in Taiwan, a place where culture is a heady mix of diverse influences. He grew up and received his education in New Zealand, where he pursued his passion for art, graduating from AUT with a Bachelor of Art and Design degree in 2004. Growing up in this unique cultural setting has played a significant role in shaping his artistic journey.
Paul’s passion for art and creativity has always revolved around the development of unique characters. His fascination with character design stems from his love of toys, cartoons, video games, and branding figures. These interests have been a driving force in his artistic endeavors.
Paul is inspired by the simple things in life. He sees the oddity in everyday elements of his surroundings and uses them as sources of creativity. Whether it is the food he enjoys, the animals he meets, or the music he loves, they all spark his imagination and fuel his artistic expression.
Paul’s artwork often builds on the concept of original characters, featuring monsters, mysterious creatures, and imperfect people. He weaves together a visual world that tells a story, with each of his characters having a unique personality and backstory of their own.
HAPPENINGS
JUL 2006 – Collective Show @ Santos (NZ)
OCT 2006 – Prologue @ Treehouse Gallery (NZ)
NOV 2006 – featured in flatten publication (TW)
APR 2007 – Collectables @ Conch Records (NZ)
APR 2007 – interview by 「dpi」 magazine vol.93 (TW)
JUL 2007 – Public Press @ Sideroom (NZ)
AUG 2007 – Installation @ rectangleBox (NZ)
SEP 2007 – Crowded Elevator Creative Collection Launch @ 420 (NZ)
SEP 2007 – Release of Crowded Elevator x Paul Shih T-shirt.
(Coverage include NZ Herald, Air NZ, REMIX…etc.)
SEP 2007 – The Kindness of Strangers @ The Helm Gallery (USA)
NOV 2007 – The Gallery @ Oxford Art Factory (AUS)
NOV 2007 – Say hello to my little friends(TNES) @ The Epicenter (USA)
NOV 2007 – Pushing Paper @ Satay (USA)
MAR 2008 – Collective Show @ Santos (NZ)
MAR 2008 – logoogol group exhibition@ Pixie (TW)
MAY 2008 – V Energy Drink’s V-Raw feature artist. (NZ/AUS)
MAY 2008 – Cleatis Preston x Paul Shih T-shirts release.
JUN 2008 – Rainbow Monster won Cartoon of the Month from Channel Frederator.
AUG 2008 – Monster Invasion @ Ruban Rat Gallery (AUS)
JAN 2009 – interview by 「BIG UP」 magazine Vol.2 (USA)
FEB 2009 – paper toy featured in 「TOY LAND」 book (Spain)
MAR 2009 – Attack of Illazilla! group mini tour @ APW Gallery (USA)
MAR 2009 – Attack of Illazilla! group mini tour @ Laced LV (USA)
APR 2009 – Attack of Illazilla! group mini tour @ Meltdown Comics (USA)
APR 2009 – Attack of Illazilla! group mini tour @ Prototype (USA)
APR 2009 – featured in 「Faesthetic」 Magazine issue 11. (USA)
MAY 2009 – interview by 「DESIGN NET」 Magazine issue 140. (KR)
SEP 2009 – Hip Hop Lives Here @ Nineteen42 (NZ)
SEP 2009 – The Print Art Gallery Launch @ Harlem23 (NZ)
OCT 2009 – 「Skull O Rama」 custom skullbox show @ Design Festa v.30 (NZ)
NOV 2009 – Urban Story Tellers @ Inkies Gallery (USA)
JAN 2010 – featured in 「The Sourcebook of Contemporary Illustration」 art book. (Worldwide)
JAN 2010 – featured in 「Kiwi Diary 2010」 book. (NZ)
FEB 2010 – featured in 「COMIX」 comic book. (USA)
MAR 2010 – tutorial on 「Digital Arts」 magazine March issue. (UK)
MAY 2010 – tutorial on 「Digital Arts」 magazine May issue. (UK)
JUN 2010 – tutorial on 「Digital Arts」 magazine June issue. (UK)
JUN 2010 – featured in 「I Love Kawaii」 art book. (Worldwide)
JUN 2010 – featured in 「We Are Paper Toys」 art book. (Worldwide)
JUL 2010 – The Toe Fluff Show @ Post Modern Gallery. (UK)
NOV 2010 – Custom Sketchbot 2 @ MunkyKing LA. (USA)
DEC 2010 – Inked Souls 3 @ Art Whino. (USA)
DEC 2010 – Spacenite 2 @ Floating World Comics. (USA)JAN 2011 – featured in 「ACCLAIM」 magazine issue 22. (AUS)
FEB 2011 – NZ Goes POP @ Wootini Gallery. (USA)
MAR 2011 – For the Love of Vinyl @ Dragatomi. (USA)
MAR 2011 – interview by 「PRO DESIGN」 magazine, issue 111. (NZ)
APR 2011 – Lunartik Mini Tea Tour @ Pictoplasma. (GER)
SEP 2011 – Exhibition @ Santos. (NZ)
SEP 2011 – featured in 「Groove Guide」 magazine. (NZ)
NOV 2011 – Kamen Rider vs Super Sentai anniversaries tribute exhibition @ JACCC. (USA)
JAN 2012 – interview by 「Clutter」 magazine, issue 16. (Worldwide)
FEB 2012 – Rabid, Wild & Docile @ myplasticheart. (USA)
MAR 2012 – SAVE&DESTROY @ Estacion Diseno. (SPN)
APR 2012 – G40 Art Summit @ Richmond, VA. (USA)
MAY 2012 – featured in 「Color Ink Book」 Vol 15. (USA)
MAY 2012 – featured in 「Pictoplasma – The Character Compendium」 (Worldwide)
SEP 2012 – Exclusive toy release & signing @ STGCC. (SG)
OCT 2012 – Exclusive toy release @ NYCC. (USA)
OCT 2012 – Scarygirl 10 Years Anniversary Show @ Toy Tokyo. (USA)
NOV 2012 – featured in 「Aortica」 No.2 (Worldwide)
NOV 2012 – featured in 「Very Sweet Kawaii」 art book. (Worldwide)
FEB 2013 – featured in 「Chromacon」 art book. (New Zealand)
NOV 2013 – featured in 「Brands & Illustrators」 art book. (Worldwide)
MAR 2014 – featured in 「We Are Indie Toys!」 art book. (Worldwide)
APR 2014 – Works Cited group exhibition @ myplasticheart. (USA)
APR 2014 – interview by 「Design Assembly」 website.
MAY 2014 – Pictoplasma 10th anniversary group exhibition @ The Pictoplasma Portrait Gallery. (German)
MAR 2015 – Whittaker’s Big Egg Hunt. (New Zealand)
APR 2016 – CHOC-A-BLOC group exhibition @ TAS Auckland Gallery. (New Zealand)
APR 2016 – Konatsuya Exbition @ QPOP. (USA)