Out of Matter by Destiny Palmer

Out of Matter is a public mural in Boston’s Seaport by Destiny Palmer, a local artist, educator and community advocate for the arts. The work grew out of the lush greens of the earthen terracotta that surrounds its building, and it spreads outward in layers of bright and earthy tones meant to work together like an energized symphony. The mural asks viewers what colors tell us about ourselves and about each other.

Palmer’s practice sits at the meeting point of abstraction, materials and color, and she is fascinated by the psychology, history and narrative carried by color. Through her studio she uses color, abstraction and public art as tools for cultural memory, research and community engagement. Her current focus is on de-centering Western color narratives, building a new color lexicon that reflects her identity as a queer Black woman with ancestry rooted in the American South.

What to Know

• Palmer works through Destiny Palmer Studios, which covers both her art and her teaching.
• An earlier body of her paintings explored the pairings yellow, black and blue, and fuchsia and orange.
• The mural is listed under public art in the Boston Seaport directory managed by WS Development.
• Color is the oldest formal element in Palmer’s work, by her own account.