Are We Lost? (SOLD)
16” x 20”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Bedtime (SOLD)
24" x 18"
Oil On Linen Mounted On Panel
Breakfast (SOLD)
24” x 18”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Cataracts (SOLD)
16” x 16”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Food Is Still Hot (SOLD)
8” x 6”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Here, Half A World Away (SOLD)
44” x 44” (Arch)
Oil On Panel
It’s Getting Late (SOLD)
16” x 16”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Neighborhood Watch (SOLD)
48” Diameter
Oil On Mounted Linen
Purple Fugue (SOLD)
30” x 30”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Red (SOLD)
22” Diameter
Oil On Panel
Red Sun (SOLD)
12" x 12"
Oil On Linen Mounted On Panel
Skaftafell (SOLD)
36" x 36"
Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel
Snowdrift (SOLD)
10” x 8”
Oil On Mounted Linen
Stardust (SOLD)
12” x 12”
Oil On Mounted Linen
The Pool Party (SOLD)
30" x 30"
Oil On Linen Mounted On Panel
The Sentinels (SOLD)
30” Diameter
Oil On Mounted Linen
Each A Glimpse And Gone Forever (SOLD)
48" x 55"
Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel
"Color, light, and the 'flavor' of a moment are always at the core of my artistic practice, and I’m most attracted to the odd and quiet moments of everyday life in a world that is large and loud."
- Nicole Parker
Wee Hours, 24" x 24", Oil On Linen, Mounted Panel
My work is a visual memoir that takes the form of narrative and representational oil paintings and intaglio prints. I’m exploring the triangular relationship between my sense of self, my perception of what “home” means, and the physical spaces that I’ve occupied throughout my life.
My imagery often involves structures, spaces and objects that represent a personal memory or dream, and evoke emotions like belonging, loneliness, joy, or fear. I’m often unable to physically visit the subjects I’m rendering, so in the studio I work mostly from memory and cobbled references.
Though my memory, like all memory, is unreliable and changing by nature, I’m interested in the potency of my own visual and sensory memories. My current body of work is a type of memento mori, specifically exploring fleeting light as the lead role in every composition.
Light and color have always been at the core of my practice, and consistently and often heartbreakingly remind me of the passage of time. Lately I am focusing on extraordinary light situations in my everyday life, and the way they seem to simultaneously slow my breathing but quicken my heart rate.
Each A Glimpse And Gone Forever, 48" x 55", Oil On Linen, Mounted Panel
We See Them At Night, 12" x 12", Oil On Linen, Mounted Panel
Nicole Parker is an oil painter and intaglio printmaker based in Mount Airy, Maryland. She received her BFA and Certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in 2018, and has held a steady studio practice since graduating.
She was a recipient of the Richard Von Hess Travel Scholarship in 2017, and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant in 2022. Nicole looks forward to her fifth solo exhibition, How Sad, How Lovely, displayed at Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, PA, where she is currently represented.
Her work is held in collections throughout the U.S., including at PAFA, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the private collection of Linda Lee Alter.
Nicole can usually be found working in her home studio (a converted attic), or etching and printing plates at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, MD, where she greatly enjoys both teaching and learning from other artists.
Skaftafell, 36" x 36", Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel
Nicole Parker: I became an intaglio printmaker, so, I’m definitely influenced by printmaking. I think and work in layers and steps, and printmaking is process-heavy and well suited for my brain type. I’ve never been a gestural or expressive painter (what I call a “painter’s painter” or “master of the goop”), but I’ve learned to embrace that and to recognize that there’s no one correct way to use any medium. The way I approach the two mediums gets closer and closer over time.
The Clocks are an experiment about space, the idea of “empty” air and how little information a painting can include while still evoking something familiar and nostalgic. It’s interesting how we perceive things like “light” and “sky” and “air” as synonymous with “empty,” when we rely on these things for essential context. We say things, like, “it’s getting dark out, better head in” or “looks like it might rain,” which are observations based on the changing appearance of––this is the funny part––seemingly nothing at all.
Nicole Parker: How Sad, How Lovely
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present How Sad, How Lovely, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Nicole Parker. An accomplished intaglio printmaker and intuitive colorist, Parker brings a quiet intensity to her paintings, where perception, memory, and emotion are distilled into delicate calibrations of light, air, and atmosphere.
Nasir Young: In Plain Sight
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present In Plain Sight, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Nasir Young. With this body of work, Young expands his visual language beyond the streetscapes of Philadelphia, drawing from recent travels across the country to explore how built environments—no matter how culturally distinct—carry shared codes of belonging and memory.
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Jeffrey Reed: Of Time, Light and Change
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present Of Time, Light and Change, a solo exhibition of new paintings by artist Jeffrey Reed. Attuned to the interplay of atmosphere, space, and light, Reed continues his practice of capturing the beauty of familiar landscapes through meticulous observation and thoughtful exploration. For over twenty-five years, Jeffrey Reed has returned to County Mayo, Ireland, painting and teaching at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, his newest works thoughtfully capturing the subtle beauty and shifting atmosphere of Ireland’s coastal landscape.
Life, Still – Group Exhibition, Curated by Douglas Martenson
At first glance, Life, Still suggests the classical still life—carefully composed objects held in quiet contemplation. Yet, the title holds deeper layers of meaning, much like the paintings in this exhibition. It speaks to the act of pausing in stillness, engaging with the everyday, and reflecting on the persistence of life itself. Stillness does not mean stagnation; rather, it is a moment of attention, an embrace of presence, and a connection to what endures.
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“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Gross McCleaf Gallery invites you to experience the magic of summer with a group exhibition titled Summer Playlist. Curated like a finely tuned mixtape, this vibrant selection of works explores seasonal themes of celebration, relaxation, and engagement with nature.
Women have been the cornerstone of operations and exhibitions at Gross McCleaf since Estelle Shane Gross opened her gallery in 1970 on the second floor of 1713 Walnut Street. Over 50 years later, Gross McCleaf is commemorating its rich history during (re)Focus 2024, a citywide festival celebrating women-identified and BIPOC artists.
Fortitude at 50: A Resilient Five Decades at Gross McCleaf Gallery features Martha Armstrong, Jan Baltzell, Joan Becker, Elizabeth Geiger, Eileen Goodman, Penelope Harris, Heidi Leitzke, Bertha Leonard, Ying Li, Ann Lofquist, Chelsey Luster, Bethann Parker, Nicole Parker, Jane Piper, Kimi Pryor, Mary Putman, Celia Reisman, Val Rossman, Mickayel Thurin, Leigh Werrell, and Lauren Whearty with self-portraits, dreamy narratives and formally complex still-life and landscape paintings. The works suggest a deep reflection of the self and a strong point of view conveyed through their distinct subjects and styles. The exhibition represents women artists in all stages of their careers who have helped shape the Gross McCleaf legacy and brand focus toward what Sharon Ewing, former owner and director, refers to as “painterly realism” – representation in painted form.
Nicole Parker: Printmaking is all about the process, because it takes so long to build the plate before I get to print it. I’m always exploring the same or similar ideas and subjects regardless of the medium, but printmaking lets me focus on the process and ponder how it’s tied to the concept or symbolism of the image itself.
Painting used to be more of a means to an end, but a professor once told me that I paint like a printmaker, and that completely changed my view of my process. Lately I’ve been noticing how I paint and what my knowledge about the process can add to the interpretation of the work.
There are many pieces in this show that involve repetitive, intricate movements bordering on tedious/maddening, which I’m realizing reflects the emotions I want to convey about the piece. One of my newest pieces of a giant lawn around a tiny house illustrates this best: it’s basically just grass forever.
“My work seeks to find throughlines from the ancient past to present to future. I want to know how things change through time and how they stay the same.”
- Morgan Hobbs
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present Chronolith, Morgan Hobbs’ first solo exhibition in Philadelphia and with the gallery.
Guest writer Lauren Whearty says: “Hobbs’ body of work focuses on the slow and methodical process of building a language - a new form of communication through paint, papier-mâché, and image. Each symbolic form is a building block for a wide array of possibilities with the potential to make new meaning through different combinations, or to break down the strength of an individual symbol into a more democratic piece of a larger whole.
“Landscape is indeed an inspiring subject to someone who values surprise, change, nuance, and natural processes. Landscapes are intrinsically creative forces. First, they evolve as complex systems from the interactions of geologic, biotic, and climatic forces over time. Then, when experienced as subjective witnesses, landscapes offer a light unique to that moment. The observer sees not just with her eyes but with layers of knowledge, familiarity, emotions, and, most crucially, curiosity.”
-Thomas Paquette
On Nature features over thirty new landscape paintings from Gross McCleaf artist, environmentalist, and explorer, Thomas Paquette. Brilliant arrays of color depict lush terrain, hazy mountains, rushing rivers, and panoramic vistas, where subtle and sensitive details in light and atmosphere are perfectly captured.
Gross McCleaf Gallery is showing works by Maryland-based Nicole Parker in her first solo exhibition in Philadelphia. Titled “Thresholds”, her paintings are portals that allow a viewer to travel through conceptual thresholds into surrogate realities. “I love human spaces like houses, buildings and public transport, and am interested in the ‘footprints’ and evidence of ourselves that we always manage to leave. Every place and object is a story or an artifact.” Also on view in February is “Trees, Seas and Objects” a major solo exhibition of new paintings by Martha Armstrong. In addition to landscapes, the current exhibition will feature a selection of still-life paintings, subject matter which Armstrong has long-explored but rarely displayed.
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to announce a major solo exhibition of new paintings by gallery artist, Martha Armstrong and Nicole Parker's first solo exhibition in Philadelphia.
Armstrong’s muscular shapes and energetic compositions are hers alone to claim – a style that she’s developed and faithfully preserved over many decades. Her work harkens back to early American Modernists like Marsden Hartley and Arthur Dove and contemporary artists like Lois Dodd and Richard Diebenkorn. One can also see the influence of European movements such as Cubism and Fauvism.
Nicole Parker’s oil paintings depict images that are on the verge of dreaming and wakefulness. The pictures are recognizable yet tend to drift into the uncanny valley – where what one sees looks to be natural and realistic but then morphs into a phantasmagoria of enigmatic imagery. Parker’s worlds contain houses, rooms, and vehicles that allude to a world made for humans, yet there are no people to be found. Rather, these spaces subtly summon the viewer to become the lone inhabitant of each scene.
