NEAL PALMER

Neal Palmer continues to explore the flora that surrounds us in Return Journeys. As well as the native harakeke and kowhai, he chooses the flamboyant blooms of the magnolia for closer investigation. The individual aspects of each species are emphasised, be it the texture of a branch, the form of a flower, or shadows of the foliage.

The floral studies are set against a neutral background which concentrates the focus on each subject. Mellow Yellow plays with illusion; the vibrant yellow of the kowhai seems to advance out from the canvas as the black background retreats. Palmer edges the petal-tips with a bright, creamy yellow and uses the same technique with the outline of the gnarled stems; these luminous hues reflect light off the painted surface and reinforce the sense of three-dimensionality. Tiny dots of red in the stamens provide visual signposts in the painting, inviting the eyes to rest upon them before moving on to the next detail.

The depth of perspective in Palmer’s harakeke paintings is likewise illusory; the viewer is invited to look through and beyond the tangle of shadowy flax blades. In Union the foreground is dim and shaded, with arching green planes edged with the thinnest of red. The eye travels up and over these towards a source of light at the top left of the canvas. Palmer breaks up the surface of the canvas with the acute angles of bifurcated leaves, strong diagonal forms and multi-toned colour; here too tiny hints of red lead the eye around the painted surface.

The paintings in Return Journeys are intimate studies. The dappled brown of a branch and the furry texture of a sepal are accorded the same importance as the blush of colour on a showy pink petal. Neal Palmer paints his appreciation of every part of his botanical subjects and invites the viewer to do likewise.

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1Shatter(2013) 9,000

2DNA(2013) 9,000

3OneTreeHill(2013) 5,500

4Union(2013) 9,000

5OneStepBeyond(2013) 11,000

6Downtown(2013) 2,500

7MellowYellow(2013) 7,500

8ViridianShards(2013) 7,500

9BotanicGardens(2013) 7,500

10CheckeredRibbons(2013) 5,500

11PrettyinPink(2013) 5,500

12WithThankstoRalph(2013) 5,500

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

NEAL PALMER

b. 1968, lives Auckland

Scatterlights (2011)

“Vividness, hyper-reality and sheer painterly skill… Brilliant technique…” (1)

“Precision on a grander scale is apparent in the work of Neal Palmer … 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

EDUCATION

NEAL PALMER

b. 1968, lives Auckland

BA (Hons) Fine Art - Trent University, Nottingham, UK

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013 Return Journeys, milford galleries queenstown

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, SOCA, Auckland

2003 Between the Lines, SOCA, Auckland

2002 Formation, SOCA, Auckland

2001 Natural Explorations, SOCA, Auckland

2000 New Zealand Icons, SOCA, Auckland

1999 Larger Than Life (ii), SOCA, Auckland

Larger Than Life - El Framo Gallery, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2013 The April Group Show, The Vivian, Matakana

2012 Reboot, milford galleries queenstown

Christmas Show, nkb Gallery, Auckland

2011 The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown

Spring Catalogue, milford galleries queenstown

Bloom, milford galleries queenstown

My City, Whitespace, Auckland

2010 Putiputi: The Flower in Contemporary New Zealand Art, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings Molly Morpeth Art Award (Merit), Whakatane District Museum and Gallery, Whakatane Braveheart Youth Trust Art Exhibition, ASB Showgrounds, Auckland

The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, milford galleries queenstown

2009 Margret Stoddart Prize, COCA, Christchurch

2008 A Bid for Freedom (SAFE), SOCA, Auckland Flying Feijoa, SOCA, Auckland Artists in Eden, Auckland

2006 100 x 100, McPherson Gallery, Auckland

2005 When Brush Meets Bonnet, Team McMillan BMW Art Awards, Auckland

2004 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

2003 100 x 100, McPherson Gallery, Auckland

Screen Invitational at Exit, SOCA, Auckland

L.A. International Biennial Art Invitational, Los Angeles, USA

2002 100 x 100, McPherson Gallery, Auckland

Artists in Eden, Auckland

2001 100 x 100, McPherson Gallery, Auckland

North Shore Art Awards, Mairangi Arts Centre, Auckland

2000 100 x 100, McPherson Gallery, Auckland

North Shore Art Awards, Mairangi Arts Centre, Auckland

1999 Coutts Mercedes, SOCA, Auckland

NealPalmer2013CV milford galleries queenstown www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

AWARDS

2013 Artist in Residence, Art in the Park Wanaka, Minaret Lodge

2010 Finalist and ‘Merit Award Winner’ Molly Morpeth Awards

2009 Finalist, Margret Stoddart Prize

2004 Finalist, Wallace Art Awards

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 Caughey, Elizabeth (Ed.), Art New Zealand Today, Saint Publishing, Auckland, 2002

2004 Campbell, Suzie, ‘Snapshot Reality - The Painted World of Neal Palmer’, Art New Zealand Autumn 2004 pg 70 – 73