NEAL PALMER

NEAL PALMER L uminance

22 October - 16 November 2011

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

milford galleries queenstown 9A Earl Street

Tel (03) 442 6896

qtown@milfordgalleries.co.nz

1. NEAL PALMER, Night Light (2011) acrylic on board, panel (ø x d): 800 x 32 mm

2. NEAL PALMER, Hop (2011) acrylic on board, panel (ø x d): 800 x 32 mm

1. DETAIL VIEW NEAL PALMER, Night Light (2011)

3. NEAL PALMER, Z (2011) acrylic on board, panel (ø x d): 800 x 32 mm

4. NEAL PALMER, Dead Red (2011) acrylic on board, panel (ø x d): 800 x 32 mm

3. DETAIL VIEW NEAL PALMER, Z (2011)

5. NEAL PALMER, Smile (2011) acrylic on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1015 x 1522 x 35mm

6. NEAL PALMER, Scatterlights (2011) acrylic on canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1015 x 1522 x 35mm

5. DETAIL VIEW NEAL PALMER, Smile (2011)

7. NEAL PALMER, Intersection (2011), acrylic on board, panel (v x h x d): 1198 x 831 x 37 mm

8. NEAL PALMER, Spot Yah (2011), acrylic on board, panel (ø x d): 800 x 32 mm

9. NEAL PALMER, Solar Flare (2011) acrylic on c

canvas, stretcher (v x h x d): 1215 x 2132 x 35mm

Glowing on the walls, Neal Palmer’s studies of pohutukawa leaves, flax and kowhai reveal a tightly focussed gaze and consummate skill. In “Luminance”, he has once again produced works of lush clarity that give an artist’s view of a botanist’s subject.

Botanically correct in colour and form, Palmer plays with the composition of his chosen flora. The seeming artlessness of his compositions is a carefully thought-out examination of space, light, line and contour. At first glance photo-realist in nature, the paintings take on a hyper-realism with closer examination; in ‘Spot Yah’, the balance of yellow, red, spotted and unspotted leaves is more cohesive than we could possibly allow for in nature. Palmer’s use of the central leaf stems form a loose triangulation that is naturally pleasing to the eye, and his placement of subtle yellow highlights about the edge of the painting create a frame and a focal point.

Likewise, his cool, shadowy flax paintings are webs of geometric intricacies. The strong vertical flax blades in ‘Scatterlights’ are dappled with shadows which create more complex surface patterns on the leaves. As well as shadow, it is Palmer’s judicious use of painted light that helps to create a real sense of depth in the work, as paradoxical as that may seem. His ‘visual signposts’ of light and dark trick the eye into seeing beyond and behind the painted foreground.

The adroit geometries of composition and form aside, Palmer obviously relishes his medium. At first glance his works may strike you with their realism, but with each glance thereafter you can’t help but notice the painterliness of these works. Texture is complemented by the subtle marks of the brush; the brilliant red of a flax flower is emphasised all the more by seeing how the artist uses a wash of soft pink as emphasis along its top. Palmer’s use of the tondo [circular] format for a number of his works is also a subtle reminder that this is a painted work of art rather than a photograph.

In her 2004 essay Suzie Campbell (Art New Zealand) commented about Palmer’s work that ‘more than anything, these paintings are a reflection of the artist’s love of form and involvement with the act of painting’(1). Add to this a sound understanding of his subject matter, an unerring eye for detail, a tangible and delicate sense of the maker and you have the essence of ‘Luminance’.

(1) Campbell, Suzie ‘Snapshot Reality - The Painted World of Neal Palmer’, Art New Zealand, Autumn 2004

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1

Night Light (2011)

3,500

2

Hop (2011)

3,500

3

Z (2011)

3,500

4

Dead Red (2011)

3,500

5

Smile (2011)

9,000

6

Scatterlights (2011)

9,000

7

Intersection (2011)

7,500

8

Spot Yah (2011)

3,500

9

Solar Flare (2011)

11,000

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

NEAL PALMER b. 1968, lives Auckland

Warp & Weft (2010)

“Vividness, hyper-reality and sheer painterly skill… Brilliant technique…” (1) “Precision on a grander scale is apparent in the work of Neal Palmer … Individual paintings often consist of panels of aluminium on board. They are held together by a dancing rhythm of intersecting geometric arcs. Behind these are accurately painted pohutukawa and flax. These are exuberant, three times life size, and often startlingly red though with a hint of decay and insect activity. The brushwork emphasises such things as the fibrous nature of flax leaves. The rhetorical enlargement, geometry and realism celebrate the variety of growth in many forms.” (2) “More than anything, these paintings are a reflection of the artist’s love of natural form and involvement with the act of painting; the manipulation of colour, its hues and tones to form convincing photorealistic pictures.” (3) Neal Palmer was born 1968 in London. He gained a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fine Arts from Trent University in Nottingham, England. He now lives and paints as a full time artist in Auckland. He has been a finalist in various art competitions such as the Margaret Stoddart prize and The Wallace Trust Awards and in 2010 he gained a merit award in the Molly Morpeth Art Award in Whakatane. He has had numerous and regular solo exhibitions since 1999.

1. T.J. McNamara in the NZ Herald reviewing Say It With Flowers, November 2008 2. T.J. McNamara in the NZ Herald, reviewing The Sum Of Their Parts, November 2006 3. Suzie Campbell, ‘Snapshot Reality- The Painted World of Neal Palmer’, Art NZ, Autumn 2004

Neal Palmer 2011 CV P a g e |1

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

NEAL PALMER b. 1968, lives Auckland EDUCATION BA (Hons) Fine Art - Trent University, Nottingham, UK

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 Luminance, milford galleries queenstown 2011 Splash, Whitespace, Auckland 2010 Woven Paths, milford galleries queenstown 2009 Get Real (Neal Palmer & Sam Foley), Whitespace, Auckland 2008 Say It With Flowers, SOCA, Auckland 2007 White Light, SOCA, Auckland 2006 The Sum Of Their Parts, SOCA, Auckland 2004 On The Fence - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland 2003 Between the Lines - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland 2002 Formation - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland 2001 Natural Explorations - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland 2000 New Zealand Icons - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland 1999 Larger Than Life (ii) - Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland Larger Than Life - El Framo Gallery, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2011

2010

2009 2008

2006 2005 2004

2003

2002 2001 2000 1999

The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown Bloom, milford galleries queenstown My City, Whitespace, Auckland Putiputi – The Flower in Contemporary New Zealand Art, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings Molly Morpeth Art Award (Merit Award), Whakatane Braveheart Youth Trust Art Exhibition, ASB Showgrounds, Auckland The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown Margret Stoddart Prize, COCA, Christchurch A Bid For Freedom (SAFE), SOCA, Auckland Flying Feijoa, SOCA, Auckland Artists in Eden, Auckland 100 x 100 – McPherson Gallery, Vulcan Lane, Auckland When Brush Meets Bonnet, Team McMillan BMW Art Awards, Auckland Art & Design, Clerkenwell, London Finalist, Wallace Art Awards, Auckland 35K & The Golden Apple, Artspace, Auckland Artists in Eden, Auckland Big Red - Celebrating the Pohutukawa, Rotorua Museum 100 x 100 - McPherson Gallery, Auckland Screen Invitational at Exit, Studio of Contemporary Art, Auckland L.A. International Biennial Art Invitational, Los Angeles 100 x 100 - McPherson Gallery, Auckland Artists in Eden, Auckland 100 x 100 - McPherson Gallery, Auckland North Shore Art Awards - Mairangi Arts Centre, Auckland 100 x 100 - McPherson Gallery, Vulcan Lane, Auckland North Shore Art Awards - Mairangi Arts Centre, Auckland Coutts Mercedes - Studio Of Contemporary Art, Auckland

AWARDS 2010 2009 2004

Finalist and ‘Merit Award Winner’ Molly Morpeth Awards Finalist, Margret Stoddart Prize Finalist, Wallace Art Awards

Neal Palmer 2011 CV P a g e |2

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

COLLECTIONS Air New Zealand, LAX Kings School Foundation, Auckland Art-Lease, Hong Kong Dawsons Catering, Auckland Private Collections in NZ, UK, Australia, USA, Spain, Malaysia and Hong Kong

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2002 2004

Caughey, Elizabeth (Ed.), Art New Zealand Today, Saint Publishing, Auckland, 2002 Campbell, Suzie, ‘Snapshot Reality - The Painted World of Neal Palmer’, Art New Zealand, Autumn 2004 pg 70 – 73

MG3 (2010)

Neal Palmer 2011 CV P a g e |3

milford galleries queenstown

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz