Untitled by Chris Palmer

Chris Palmer

Chris Palmer is a true pop artist, drawing his inspiration from comic books, movies, and television. Creating his artwork entirely from memory, Chris skips rough drafts. Instead, he starts his drawings with markers and, when finished, never corrects mistakes or modifies his work in any way. Although the subjects of his artwork –Star Wars, The Simpsons and TV quiz shows such as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, for example -- are familiar to fans of pop culture, they are created and interpreted in a style that clearly is Chris’ own – translations that are at once identifiable and unique. His artwork contains small subtleties – the way the characters are spaced and posed, for example. Sometimes they are spread out in the design. Other times, they are bunched together. They can be playful, friendly, or serious but always a delight to the viewer. And, their accuracy, along with Chris’ memory -- is sometimes astonishing. For example, his mother, Angele Palmer, remembered a drawing he did at home, evoking an episode of the TV show, Happy Days. “We certainly haven’t watched that in many years!” she exclaimed. Chris’ art has been displayed in several venues including the Rutgers Medical School’s Collaborative ARTS Exhibit and the Access-ABILITY exhibit at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ. He learned about the Arts Access Program from his Coordinator/Case Manager at the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Supports Program, a Medicaid home and community-based program for New Jersey adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in their family home or their own apartment or home. The goal of the program is to assist them to live as independently as possible.