James Palmigiano: Recent Collages

McGowan Fine Art announces the opening of “Recent Works”, featuring a selection of mixed media works by James Palmigiano. The show will run October 11 through November 11, 2011, with a reception taking place October 14, 5 to 7 PM. The reception is free and open to the public.

A Trappist monk, James Palmigiano’s monastic life manifests itself in his quiet, intimate works. “It seems clear that my work reflects my experience of life in the monastery”, says Palmigiano. “The apparent harmony of each piece is born of a process of adding and subtracting, organizing and rearranging in a search for balance, order and presence.”

Collage is the defining element of Palmigiano’s art which grew from his work as a vestment designer at Saint Joseph’s Abbey. At first glance his collages appear random, or disorderly. On closer inspection, the opposite becomes evident. Old stamps, fabric remnants, hand-written envelopes - every day bits and pieces of life - are carefully placed and then rearranged by his meticulous hand. “The process of art making is about attentiveness, trying to bring order and make something out of what is confused and apparently hopeless.” The result of Palmigiano’s painstaking process is serene, meditative works. His gouache and pastel paintings elicit this same sense of tranquility, with a juxtaposition of deliberate and gentle strokes.

James Palmigiano has been a brother at Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts since 1991. Both his MFA from Columbia University and his Masters in Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkley have prepared him for the contemplative life.

Palmigiano has displayed his works in both solo and group exhibitions throughout New England, NY, and in CA.