ERIN PARISH – RECENT WORK
Dates: May 20 – July 1, 2000
Opening Reception: Saturday May 20, 3–5 pm

Marcel Sitcoske Gallery is proud to present our second solo show of work by New York based abstract painter Erin Parish.

With this current body of work, Erin Parish expands upon her abstract style that she has been working in for over ten years. Her work draws its strength in part from the subtle nuances and detail of her surfaces. Her new paintings show a refinement of technique as her surfaces become richer and more varied. In “Honeycomb, Be My Baby,” a clouded surface yields a core of syrupy golden yellow and iridescent blue. Her use of glazing and thin washes in “Tonic” and “Moonlight in Vermont” produces a glass-like surface, dissolving into translucence in places, revealing hidden layers. In "Lost in Autumn," (48 x 116 inches) one of the largest works in the exhibition, thin horizontal bands of muted earth tones define its structure, while reds, yellows and oranges dance and float across the canvas, pooling and almost appearing to stain in areas.

Parish’s work also continues to occupy the space between total abstraction and association. Her work has long been influenced by the natural world, specifically water. Parish is interested in water for its vast depths, its calm, and its reflective qualities. Her paintings, however, are always balanced between being connected to the world and existing on their own. She has quite skillfully mediated the duality between reference and pure painting. It is in these dualities and conflicts that Parish's work finds its home. Through these opposing poles, the viewer is able to find a contemplative and meditative space. As Emily Barton notes in her catalogue introduction, "Perhaps what most unifies Parish's varied work is the way these paintings seek a workable balance between true abstraction and subtle allusion, the universal and the specific, depth and surface. The paintings do not imagine this balance as a fixed entity, but as mutable, like the world we live in."

Parish has grown remarkably as a painter over the past year, since her first solo show at the gallery. Her current work shows that abstract painting can still be refreshing and awe-inspiring, but more importantly it shows how far she has come and how much she has the potential to accomplish. The gallery will be publishing a catalogue in conjunction with this exhibition.