March 4, 2008 | Download PDF
Spence Gallery presents African American artist Charly Palmer
Conversations with the artist on Saturday, March 15
Award-winning African American artist Charly Palmer will have a solo exhibit, “Borderline” at the Spence Gallery from February 22 - March 23, 2008. This exhibit celebrates the strength and dignity of a people. His colourful mixed media pieces chronicle the civil rights era and the African American journey to freedom marred by injustice and hardship. That he is able to address such significant political issues in equally aesthetically appealing compositions is testament to Palmer’s talent and explains why he is currently one of most collected contemporary African American artists.
Among Palmer’s influences are Klimt for his mosaic colours, and Basquiat for his raw technique. He mostly works on canvas and wood creating simple forms with acrylic and collages of printed text, photographs and historical documents. Using various media allows him to subsume American history in varying degrees into the social and cultural narrative of his pieces. In Borderline he continues to explore the story of everyday people. “I attempt to come from a place of truth. I believe people connect with these images because they trigger a memory of days gone by. And, I for one, long to live in those simple days again. I have learned to get out of the way and just enjoy the experience of creating.”
Palmer has been compared to Jacob Lawrence, one of the African American masters. Time will tell where he stands in American Art History meanwhile his works form part of many public collections and he has been a winner in the “Gallery of Greats” contest. He was also commissioned to create posters for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic and the 1998 Winter Olympics.
The artist will be present for a reception and artist talk on Saturday, March 15 starting at 3:00 p.m.
Charly Palmer currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia; he was born in Alabama and raised in Wisconsin. He is also a Graphic Designer and Illustrator. He spent a year at the Art Institute of Chicago and in 1982 graduated with a BFA from the American Academy of Art, also in Chicago.
SPENCE GALLERY, located at 588 Markham (Bathurst & Bloor), is a one-of-a-kind gallery in Toronto. The gallery was founded to share culturally diverse artistic expressions. It provides a taste of contemporary art of Caribbean, Latin American and African artists and the Diaspora. It is dedicated to diversity and celebrates the cultural influences of the artists.
For further information & to set up interviews with the artist please contact: Joan Spence, Director – 416 795 2787