WALKING INTO NORMAN’S STUDIO AND ADJOINING APARTMENT, ONE HAS THE DISTINCT EXPERIENCE OF WITNESSING THE ESSENCE, THE NATURE OF A PERSON BY MEANS OF THE SPACE THEY OCCUPY.

Much like his paintings, his space is reflective of a keen, experienced eye and specific aesthetic sensibility. It manages to be somehow both teeming with objects - thousands of books and artworks from floor to ceiling, memorabilia collected throughout his extensive travels and also very intentional, with an almost Japanese-like austerity and calm. 

Norman will often sit in front of a painting for hours considering its composition - and will sometimes make adjustments to his work up to 30 years after the initial painting was conceived. He paints from a mental well of experience, honed compositional technique, and a knack for world-building, mostly influenced by day to day life - a powerful storm on a road trip, a graceful female figure gazing out a window, grayscale arrays of objects in space from Windex bottles to broomsticks.

You’ll know his work when you see it. From my own experience, and that of friends and colleagues, Norman is known as a truly generous friend and mentor and perennial teacher and storyteller. He is never without an anecdote for any given situation, having led a life rich in travel, observation and teaching.