It’s easy to imagine J.S. (John) Parker in his Blenheim studio energetically laying down paint with his trusty palette knife while the music of Van Morrison (‘Spirit’ is from his 1980 album Common One) blasts through the speakers. It is three years since Parker died (1944-2017) but his rare spirit lives on in these robustly lyrical paintings from the last decades of his career.
It is no accident that Plainsongs – the title with which Parker identified most of his later paintings – has a musical origin since music of all kinds – rock, jazz, blues, folk, classical – frequently accompanied his practice.
Extract from 'Oh No Never Let The Spirit Die: The Legacy of J.S. Parker' an essay by Peter Simpson.
Read the full essay and see the exhibition online here: https://artisgallery.co.nz/js-parker/