Gary Palmer was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1968, and educated at
University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he gained his MA in Architecture
in 1991. He spent his early years traveling the world etching out his
paintings on city streets in the ephemeral medium of chalk.There were several chance encounters that informed his direction. On the journey he met Lucienne Bloch and Steve Dimitroff, apprentices to Diego Rivera and from them learned the process of Fresco painting. Palmer has painted murals in New Zealand, Australia and the US. During the ceasefires of 1995 he was commissioned by the Cultural Traditions Group of Northern Ireland for a work at the Ulster Museum, Belfast. His recent mural commissions include the Los Angeles home of Sean Lennon and Bijou Phillips, and at Madre Grande Monastery. On the pavement he has been commissioned by festivals in Canada, Australia, Europe and the US and his anemographic perspectives and circular mandalas have become known around the world. "A Carpet of dream' a book which records his streetwork and travels was published by RJD Enterprises in 96, and 'Urbancanvas' a documentary that features some of his paintings is still in production. Palmer has exhibited work on canvas in group and one person shows since 96 in Los Angeles and Venice, California. Selected Exhibitions: BHG Gallery Bergamot Station, Art Heals Group Show. The Sand Box, Abbott Kinney Blvd - one person show Beige Magazine, Hollywood - group show The paintings are abstract figurative works in a variety of media. In style they are a modern form of expressionism. There are works in charcoal and coffee, tar paintings, and oil paintings. His journey to East Africa, from Malawi to the island of Zanzibar has been the subject matter of his recent work on canvas. The paintings form a diary recording the journey of the artist's own life. He is presently showing work at the Visual Arts Exchange Gallery and at the Grace Li Wang Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina. He now resides and paints at a monastic retreat close to the border to Mexico and his work is featured on the web at www.urbancanvas. |