Paul Ré

Paul Bartlett Ré (pronounced "Ray") is an American artist, writer, poet, and peace advocate. He is known for his book The Dance of the Pencil: Serene Art by Paul Ré and for the Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize administered by the University of New Mexico Foundation.

His book Art, Peace, and Transcendence: Réograms That Elevate and Unite, received the 2016 New Mexico–Arizona Book Award for Philosophy and the 2019 Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in Fine Arts.

In 2007, the University of New Mexico (UNM) established a biannual peace prize named after him, honoring his commitment and work for promoting peace around the world.

He was named to the 2024 Dr. Fred Shair and Mr. Paul Ré SURF Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. Shair founded SURF in 1979.

His album, Paul Ré: Compositions for Classical Guitar, was released in 2025 on numerous platforms where it can be heard for free. His maternal grandparents were from England.

Biography Paul Bartlett Ré was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1950. Valedictorian of his high school, Ré went on to earn a B.Sc. in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1972 (Veronda, Winifred, 1989). He elected as his first medium the drawing pencil. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, art critic Alfred Frankenstein said, "Ré is a virtuoso of the pencil, which he uses with incredible delicacy and refinement." (Frankenstein, Alfred, 1974) Paul Ré has also exhibited acrylic paintings, found object constructions, sculpture, bas-reliefs, embossings, Réograms (hybrid hand-digital prints), and sumi-e paintings. In the encyclopedia, Contemporary Graphic Artists, art historian Denis Wepman wrote, "The singular purity of Ré's simple, highly stylized designs gives them a unique place in modern art." The extraordinary sensitivity of their line and composition appeals to the senses with a haunting directness" (Wepman, Dennis, 1988).

Ré started exhibiting in California and New Mexico during the 1970s. Since then, he has had 22 solo exhibits in 13 states, including at the UNM Jonson Gallery, Albuquerque Museum, Triangle Gallery, Wichita Museum, Sumter Gallery, J. B. Speed Museum, the Colorado Springs Museum and the Karpeles Museum.

In 1979, Ré began creating the embossed works, which gave a tactile form to his visual creations, and the resulting exhibition “TOUCHABLE ART: An Exhibit for the Blind and the Sighted” traveled in the United States and Canada from 1981 to 1994. During its 18 showings, about 100,000 people experienced the works; a handmade, thermoformed companion volume with Braille and text was produced in 1983. (Reed, David, 1990) A documentary film on his Art was produced by SCETV in 1990.

In 1993, the volume "THE DANCE OF THE PENCIL: Serene Art by Paul Ré” collected and chronicled the development of Ré's work up to that date.

Music is another facet of Ré's creativity. His 50-minute recording, Compositions for Classical Guitar, included an introduction to his traveling exhibit. It was reviewed in the summer 1986 issue of THE LOG OF THE BRIDGETENDER of the American Council of the Blind by editor Sue Tullos. (Tullos, Sue, 1986) During his career, Paul's work was documented in Contemporary Graphic Artists, Volume 3 (1988), a reference publication edited by Maurice Horn and published by Gale Research. The volume included a biographical profile of Re together with information on his artistic activities, publications, and selected examples of his work. Horn, Maurice, ed. Contemporary Graphic Artists. Vol. 3. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1988, pp. 183–188 Paul showed an early interest in science and physics. He won first place in physics and NASA awards at the International Science Fair for two separate projects.

Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize Extending Paul Rés work of promoting "harmony in the world," the biannual Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize has been established at the University of New Mexico. Managed by the UNM Foundation, the biannual prize award is given to a UNM student, faculty member, staff person, retiree, volunteer, or alumnus who has demonstrated notable achievements in promoting world peace and understanding. From 2007 to 2026, 47 individuals and organizations have been honored in four categories: the main award, lifetime achievement, career achievement, and emerging promoter of peace. Videos of the 2020 and 2022 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize Reception feature presentations by Paul Ré, the Selection Committee, and the awardees. These 2-hour-and-20-minute programs can be seen on YouTube. The 1 hour and 36 minute The 2024 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize Virtual Reception can be viewed on YouTube. The website of the 2024 winner, Katie Stone of The Children's Hour, can be seen here. Wesleyan University Press wrote this about Gerald Vizenor, recipient of the 2020 Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize Lifetime Achievement Award.

Exhibitions Paul Ré Paintings and Drawings solo exhibit at the Jonson Gallery in 1978. The accompanying catalog was written by Ann Newell. Paul Ré was one of three artists included in the 1981 Baxter Art Gallery exhibition "Barry Fahr, Tom Jenkins, Paul Re" was presented at the California Institute of Technology in cooperation with the Pasadena Art Alliance. The accompanying exhibition catalog was published by Baxter Art Gallery in Pasadena, California, in 1981. UNM Jonson Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. 2001 Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Wichita Museum, Wichita, Kansas, United States. J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, United States. "Touchable Art," co-exhibited with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service exhibition "In Touch," Museum of Arts and Science, Macon, Georgia, United States, 1989. Touring exhibition series, 18 venues across the United States and Canada (1981-1994). Touchable Art was shown in connection with ABEC in Canada and was reviewed under the title "Touchable Art Inspired by Keller." Paul Ré: miscellaneous uncataloged material. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Balch Art Research Library.

Critical commentary D. Wepman authored an article on Paul Ré in Contemporary Graphic Artists. Ed Garman, a member of the Transcendental Painting Group and biographer of Raymond Johnson, commented on the artwork. A Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist S. Chandrasekhar, has been referenced in discussions related to Ré's intellectual interests; NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory is named in Chandrasekhar's honor. Commentary concerning Ré by Caltech Emeritus President Thomas Everhart has noted that filmmaker Frank Capra, like Ré, was an alumnus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Writings and awards

Paul Ré's writings appear in Leonardo 13–2, 14–2, and 15–2, SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE: The 1990 Rolex Awards, The Journal of Visual Impairment, New America, La Mamelle, and Design Journal. Illustrated essays, 1000 to 3000 words in length, on Ré's work are included in Contemporary Graphics Artists, 3rd edition, and The Dictionary of International Biography, 36th edition. He is profiled in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICAN ART, WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA, and WHO'S WHO IN THE WORLD and other reference volumes worldwide. (Slocum, Dana, 2005-ongoing)

His three books are TOUCHABLE ART FOR THE BLIND AND SIGHTED (a handmade limited edition), THE DANCE OF THE PENCIL: Serene Art by Paul Ré, and ART, PEACE, AND TRANSCENDENCE: Réograms That Elevate and Unite, which is published by UNM Press. It received the 2016 New Mexico–Arizona Book Award for Philosophy. The book received the 2019 Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in Fine Arts.

Paul is editing his collected poems, The Iris Ballet, and compiling his 55 volumes of aphorisms and micro-essays in the Recycled Dictionary. (Ingles, Paul, Suzanne, Kryder, 2017)

In 1982 and 1984, he received residency grants at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico.

Science Fair Awards Ré received first place in physics and NASA awards at the International Science Fair in 1967 and 1968. His science fair projects focused on fluid mechanics and involved the design and construction of three Laval nozzles for a supersonic wind tunnel. Ré later stated these functional objects were his earliest sculptural works. His participation and awards were reported in contemporary newspapers, including the Albuquerque Journal, which covered his local and state science fair competition and published a front-page article on his 1968 International Science Fair awards on 18 May 1968. The newspaper also published a photograph from the 1967 awards ceremony showing Re' with chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, who presented the awards; the Albuquerque Tribune also reported on New Mexico students participating in the international science fair. Ré's participation in the competition is documented in the Society for Science alumni archive, and essays about his awards are included in Mentoring for the Future. NASA ISEF Awards Winners, 1961-1994.