Michael A. Palmer to Open Exhibition January 8, 2018 at Gingerbread Square Gallery with new figurative and abstract architectural works

 Once again Gingerbread Square Gallery is pleased to welcome the work of Michael A. Palmer in an exhibit of his latest collection of acrylic & ink paintings on canvas. The show will open with a reception from 5:30 to 8:00 PM on Monday, January 8th. However, it will be available for early viewing beginning on Sunday, January 7th.This exhibition of works by Key West artist Michael A. Palmer continues through January 14th. Gingerbread Square Gallery is located “Uptown” at 1207 Duval Street, Key West, FL 33040 and the gallery is open 10AM to 6PM. Phone: 305-296-8900. The exhibition can also be viewed on the gallery website at www.GingerbreadSquareGallery.com. Email: [email protected]

 Mr. Palmer is not new to Key West as he has lived and worked here for the last 36 years spending summers in Maine. He has exhibited professionally for 54 years and his work is well collected both here and abroad. For a number of years he has continued his focus on life in the African-American community of Key West.

His work has recently concentrated more and more on an investigation of the architectural/geometric mazes of favelas such as those above Rio de Janeiro. Defined as slums or ghettos, favelas are tightly thrown together communities of the poor with any type of structure, from large buildings to lean-tos jammed into areas surrounding major cities. Geographically they go by many names, but they are all places where a large segment of a population scrapes together livings in the shadow of more affluent metropolises. This is wonderfully depicted in several new works.” The collections of works shown in Key West at Gingerbread Square Gallery are unique in their tropical flavor and are only exhibited here. In this latest collection viewers familiar with Palmer‘s work will find many friendly subjects from past exhibits such as his insightful representations of African/Americans. In his other Caribbean inspired landscapes, there is evidenced Palmer’s strong architectural bent running through most of his work. Michael says “I guess my work in this show is somewhat regional since I rarely exhibit tropical or figurative inspired work anywhere else since Key West and its residents hold a special place in my heart that I can’t keep from influencing my work here.”

Michael’s works are an abstract combining of line and tone and form that makes them fascinating. He starts with a blank canvas and creates as he paints, eventually with a recognizable shape emerging – a figure, object, landscape, structure…more often of late a geometric design. Palmer says, “I’ve been drawn to the geometric, linear approach the late Richard Deibenkorn had to his work with landscape/urbanscapes. That whole Bay Area school displays a strong sense of the design of things rather than the literal ‘look’.” Michael uses color selectively, in very subtle ways to convey a feeling, almost a physical feeling. Palmer has used the line and often geometric shape to lend a strong directional sense to pieces. Michael says, “Did you know that line also can give a sense of feeling? Horizontal – calm, vertical – often confining or strong, and diagonal lines – nervous, moving, intense.”

Color works the same way for Palmer – “cooler or subtle, soft tones find calm, quiet while warmer, more intense tones start to wake up, activate, and excite the eye.”

Often his works depict rooftops, bird’s eye views of cityscapes or people going about their everyday business. The figurative African-American series depicts men, women and children as seen with the artist’s loving eye in their everyday lives – at a café, at the bus stop or outside of a church. From his life experiences, he has developed an understanding of the aesthetics of the African-American culture and is able to portray it in a very unique, sometimes whimsical, way. Michael states “I have also always admired the almost Zen approach to things many African-Americans have.“

His paintings are in the permanent public collections of the Seattle Museum of Art, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, the DeCordova Museum of Art in Lincoln, MA; Colby College in Waterville, ME; the University of Georgia, the University of Maine and the Ogunquit Museum of Art in Maine. Private collections that include Mr. Palmer’s work include Aetna Insurance Company; Bristol Myers Squibb, Searle Pharmaceuticals, Hartford Life, The Rockefeller family’s and William & Gertrude Mellon’s. Michael Palmer is listed in “Who’s Who in Art” and has exhibited in many museums and fine art galleries throughout the United States and Canada.

Michael Palmer’s recent works have received much praise and serious attention by collectors and critics alike. Also, Birn Fine Art, a fine art publisher, reproduces some of these magnificent pieces as limited edition giclées on canvas.

The January 8th show at Gingerbread Square Gallery features a rich assortment of new works – architectural bird’s-eye views and several of his trademark “people” pieces, as well as some pleasant surprises for his many collectors.

Gingerbread Square Gallery is located “Uptown” at 1207 Duval Street, Key West, FL 33040 and the gallery is open daily 10AM to 6PM. Phone: 305-296-8900. The exhibition can also be viewed on the gallery website at www.GingerbreadSquareGallery.com. Email: [email protected]

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