Undiluted: Paintings by Julian Alcantar and James Palmore

March 1 – April 29, 2012

James Palmore, "Being That We Are", 5 3/8" h x 5" w, mixed media on wood: metal, acrylic paint — James Palmore, “Being That We Are”, 5 3/8″ h x 5″ w, mixed media on wood: metal, acrylic paint

“Undiluted” features new abstract paintings by regional artists Julian Alcantar and James Palmore. Both artists make use of color, form, and line to create visual metaphors about human experience and emotion.

Julian Alcantar’s paintings use bold hues, organic forms and gesture to create paintings that radiate energy. He creates his own language of abstraction that is not confined solely to a canvas; his work also encompasses performance and mural painting.

James Palmore’s large, airbrushed, photorealistic portraits have gained much recognition, but recently his work has moved towards abstraction. The mixed-media paintings he will show at Artpost carry a different type of energy, which is visually translated through incorporating found objects and photographs to create heavily textured pieces.

Julian Alcantar, "Untitled", 52.5” x 24”, acrylic and spray paint on canvas — Julian Alcantar, “Untitled”, 52.5” x 24”, acrylic and spray paint on canvas

Julian Alcantar is founder of the Independent Artists Association of Indiana, a collaborative living space for artists. Julian is a prolific muralist and painter whose work has been featured at Meet Me on the Island at the South Bend Museum of Art, in the Goshen Art Alley in Goshen, IN, and in the Elkhart Art Walk. His commissioned murals are in many private collections in the Michiana area.

James Palmore has been an integral part of the art community in Kalamazoo MI for the past 30 years. He is a founding member of the Kalamazoo Black Arts & Cultural Center, launched in 1986. He is currently an adjunct faculty at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, coordinates Youth Art Camps and Science & Art Camp activities at the Farm Research Cooperative in Bloomingdale, MI, and is a Theatrical set designer for the Kalamazoo Black Arts & Cultural Center.

He has exhibited his work in many venues in Michigan and elsewhere, most recently at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and at Midtown Gallery in Kalamazoo MI. His work is in many corporate and private collections. In 2010, James was awarded the “Reginald Gammon Community Artist Award” from the Kalamazoo Black Arts & Cultural Center.