Tom Palmore: Cats, Birds and a Couple of Monkeys by LewAllen Galleries

TomPalmore Cats, Birds and a Couple of Monkeys

DOWNTOWN

TomPalmore Cats, Birds and a Couple of Monkeys AUGUST 3 - SEPTEMBER 2. 2012 DOWNTOWN GALLERY

LewAllenGalleries Railyard: 1613 Paseo De Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.3250 Downtown: 125 West Palace Avenue | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.8997 www.lewallengalleries.com | info@lewallengalleries.com cover: Navajo Cat, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 37.75” x 48”

Tom Palmore: Cats, Birds, and a Couple of Monkeys

Lazy Day, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”

Tom Palmore’s art defies easy classification. For nearly 40 years, his unusual work has involved a uniquely sophisticated kind of visual pun. Palmore’s keen eye for human idiosyncrasy, coupled with a genuine reverence for the personality of animals, converges in art that is not quite surreal but certainly not conventional. More Norman Rockwell than Walt Disney, Palmore subtly parodies the human condition by painting reverential, even profound animal portraiture—the sophisticated humor of which is not just witty but also possesses a serious aspect of wry social commentary.

Meticulously painted animals, birds, insects and reptiles are placed in front of whimsical backgrounds with deeply human significance. A mountain lion is posed regally in front of a vivid Navajo blanket in Navajo Cat, and, in The Great Race, an alert rabbit stands atop a turtle in a delightful interpretation of the proverbial story of the Tortoise and the Hare. The incongruities are evident but captivatingly puzzling. These combinations seem almost natural at first glance but the impact of their quiet discordance quickly follows. The striking contrast of animal and human compositional elements provokes an amused contemplation that leaves the viewer searching happily for meaning and relationship.

In Cats, Birds, and a Couple of Monkeys, the latest in a long line of solo exhibitions with LewAllen Galleries, the artist’s most recent paintings of animals in oils and acrylics offer his unique form of juxtaposing literalism and imagination.

Palmore’s passion for animals began when he was a young boy, growing up in small-town Oklahoma among pets like 2

horses, squirrels, and even an alligator. “What happens to us in childhood really affects us when we’re older,” Palmore explains, “It was a strong influence on me. As I matured and went through art school I realized I could paint anything I wanted from a technical standpoint.” Studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Palmore developed a strong desire to forge his own path in contemporary art. He was influenced by classical portrait painters of Europe, but he was also inspired by the surrealist techniques of Roberto Matta and Rene Magritte.

due—all living things. This allows Palmore to explore the underlying commonalities that humans share with the rest of the animal kingdom, commonalities that perhaps lie at the heart of our fascination with them. Palmore’s subjects serve as compressed and wonderfully enigmatic narratives. It is this relationship between hyperrealist technique and unexpected compositional elements that lend distinctively complex and nearly surreal qualities to Palmore’s paintings, conferring additional layers of depth and meaning that invite an often deeply personal engagement in the viewer.

Early on, Palmore began incorporating realistic objects into his surrealistic and figurative works, but found himself repeatedly drawn to painting animals. While Palmore’s technique remains representational, from a conceptual standpoint his works depict a phantasmagoric understanding of natural life. Indeed, Palmore seems to approach each painting as though it were commissioned by the subject itself. This presents something of a role reversal, wherein the artist and subject become inverted, and it is perhaps a reason why the artist—who says “I’ve always wanted to go beyond the photo by capturing the dimensionality, spirit, and life of the subject”—is able to inject such remarkably dreamlike qualities into work that is otherwise so strikingly realistic.

Palmore is quick to point out that his work doesn’t fit into any one categorization or genre. “Even when I put an animal in a natural setting, I try to make it my own through unusual lighting, unique compositions, or atypical points of view,” he says. “The worst thing, in my opinion, is when an artist copies someone else. There are a handful of original wildlife artists and the rest are members of the ‘elk in the meadow’ or ‘moose in the water’ schools. We are all influenced by society and by history, but you have to take those examples, put them through your own filter and make them your own.” Just as Palmore is renowned for his technical ability, he’s loved for his sophisticated humor. As he asserts, “most of my work could actually happen, but it would be unusual that it would,” he said. “The juxtaposition is what adds the humor.” The inclusion of Buddy Sees Something in this exhibition represents something of a departure from Palmore’s usual practice of painting his subjects either facing us or in profile. Here we see the back of a house cat, perched on an adobe wall overlooking a mesa dotted with scrub bushes. Focused perhaps on a hawk or egret, his ears are erect and his head is arched back in a recognizably feline posture. The puffy clouded, perfectly blue sky adds to the whimsical scene, and this and other works exemplify Palmore’s alternately wry and playful sense of humor.

Palmore’s facility with paint is brilliantly evidenced in the lifelike details he achieves on canvas. He augments a furry coat, for example, with thousands of tiny, individually painted hairs. The glossy sheen of a jungle cat’s wet nose and the iridescent feathers of tropical birds likewise evince Palmore’s singular adherence to meticulous detail and serve to emphasize his subjects’ suitability as main characters within a tableau. Palmore carefully chooses his subjects’ settings, which may include romantic landscapes or patterned textiles. Often, Palmore incorporates background themes or motifs that can be seen as ironic—such as bird wallpaper in a portrait of a cat—or oddly fitting, like Egyptian Bee Eater birds in front of hieroglyphic papyrus flowers. These are aspects that illuminate allegorical meanings and introduce new interpretive possibilities within the work. “I realized early on that the background is a critical part of the painting and that it can be the element which creates wit or surprise,” says Palmore. “I’ve also learned that the background possibilities are infinite because they are only limited by my imagination.”

Palmore’s pronounced interest in painting animals is not a strictly aesthetic pursuit. From his perspective, “animals are not here just for our amusement … human populations are expanding so exponentially that animals are being squeezed out, and in many instances the last place left for them is the artificial environment of a zoo.” This humane attitude is translated in works that portray even nature’s wildest creatures with dignity and grace. Sometimes startling and often sharply funny, Cats, Birds, and a Couple of Monkeys employs caricature and veneration to examine and affirm our human relationship to animals.

His paintings possess a compelling visual eloquence that elevates his subjects’ status and presents a strangely forceful argument speaking to the legitimacy of—and respect

Egyptian Bee Eaters, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” 4

Western Peacock, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” 5

Snow Leopard, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” 6

Jaguar King, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” 7

Great Blue Heron, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 35.75” x 48” 8

Mesmerized, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 35.75” x 48” 9

Buddy Sees Something, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 48” x 35.75” 10

The Great Race, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 48” x 35.75” 11

Danger in Ancient Egypt, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30” x 40” 12

Empress, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 35.75” x 48” 13

Tom Palmore Born: 1945, Ada, OK

Education: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1967-69), North Texas State University (1965-66), University of Nevada (1963-65)

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2010 LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 2008 LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2006 LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2003 LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2002 Newman and Saunders Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1999 US Artist 99, Philadelphia, PA The Academy Show, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1998 OTHER EARTHLINGS, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1995 Roland Betts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1994 J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1993 Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1992 Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1991 Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1989 Birds, Bulls, and a Couple of Monkeys, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1986 Recent Paintings, Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, TX 1985 Performing Animals, Route 66, Philadelphia, PA 1983 Texas Wildlife, F.C.I., Fort Worth, TX 1981 Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 1979 Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 1977 Paint By Numbers, Janet Fleischer, Philadelphia, PA 1976 Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1975 Louis K. Miesel Gallery, New York, NY 1973 Trophies, Bernard Dannenberg Galleries, Philadelphia, PA 1971 Gorillas, Midgets, & a Couple of Dogs, Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1992 1990 1986 1984 1985 1982 1983

1980 1981 1979

SELECTED GROUP WORKS 2005 Small Works, LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 1998 US Artist Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA Leading the West, Munson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1997 US Artists’ Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA Gallery Group Show, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1996 US Artists’ Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA Gallery Group Show, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1995 Horwitch/Newman, Phoenix, AZ 1994 Philadelphia Academy of Arts, US Artists’ Exhibition 1993 Tokyo Art Fair, Tokyo Tom Palmore/William Shepard/Rudy Fernandez, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY

1978 1977

Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Prairie Edge Gallery, South Dakota Small Paintings, J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY Tom Palmore and Rudy Fernandez, New York, NY Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Four Artists, Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ Route 66, Philadelphia, PA 20 year Exhibition, Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ Alumni Show, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Watermelon Show, Willard/Lee Gallery, Richmond, VA Artists of Santa Fe, Dallas Theater Center, TX Rockefeller Center, NY Tokyo, Japan Landscape Invitational Show Santa Fe Festival of the Arts, Santa Fe, NM Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Santa Fe, NM The West as Art, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA The Panhandle Collects, Amarillo Arts Center, Amarillo, TX Route 66, Philadelphia, PA Carson Sapiro Gallery, Denver, CO Dorthea Spayer Gallery, Aris, France American Realism Since 1960, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Santa Fe, NM & Scottsdale, AZ Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Dorthea Spayer Gallery, Paris, France Philadelphia Museum of Arts, PA Louis K. Meisel Gallery New York, NY Dorthea Spayer Gallery, Aris, France Contemporary-A Portrait Show, Squinn Gallery, Princeton, NJ Philadelphia Figure Painting Show, Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Decade of American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Animals in Art, Syracuse, NY Philadelphia in Washington, Pyramid Gallery, Washington, DC The American Family, Philadelphia Museum of Art,

1976 1974

Philadelphia, PA The Presence and Absence in Realism, State University College, Potsdam, NY International Events, 72-76 Venice Biennale, Italy 8th International Festival of Paintings, Cagnes-Sur Mer, France The Seventies, Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Third International Contemporary Art Fair, Paris, France Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY Dorthea Spayer Gallery, Paris, France Watercolor and Painting Show, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY Contemporary Portraits, Lancaster Community Art Center, Lancaster, PA The American Wing, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA Aviation, The New York’s Cultural Center, NY; Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; University of Houston Fine Arts Center, TX; Carrington Gallery Auckland, New Zealand, Denedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand, GovettBrewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand; Five Pennsylvania Artists, Pennsylvania State University Museum of Art; Park French Biennial Exhibition, Paris, France

National Museum of Wildlife Art New Orleans Museum of Art Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art Philadelphia Museum of Art Price Waterhouse Princeton University Silver Screen Productions Smithsonian Institute Stanley Marcus—Neiman Marcus St. Louis Art Museum Thomas Reed Corporation Twenty Mule Team Museum Vesti Corporation Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center Whitney Museum of Art Wolfer Printing Corporation Xerox

COLLECTIONS: Albuquerque Museum of Art, History, and Science Allentown Museum of Art AMOCO Atlantic Richfield Center for Visual Arts AT&T Brooklyn Museum Chase Manhattan Bank Continental Bank Denver Art Museum Everson Museum of Art F.C.I. Girard Bank Indianapolis Museum of Art Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe