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Nicole Parker

Folklore

November 16 - December 23, 2023

Selected Works Thumbnails
3:36  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

3:36 (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

 

Inquire
Are We Lost?  16" x 20”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Are We Lost? (SOLD)

16" x 20”

Oil On Mounted Linen

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Bedtime  18" x 24”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Bedtime (SOLD)

24" x 18”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
Breakfast  18" x 24”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Breakfast (SOLD)

24" x 18”

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

Inquire
Cataracts  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Cataracts (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
Clearing  10" x 10" (12" x 12" Framed)  Etching

Clearing

10" x 10" (12" x 12" Framed)

Etching

Shop

Inquire
Come Watch With Me  18" x 22" (20" x 24" Framed)  Five-Plate Etching

Come Watch With Me

18" x 22" (20" x 24" Framed)

Five-Plate Etching

Shop

Inquire
Far From Home  10" x 16" (12" x 18" Framed)  Etching

Far From Home

10" x 16" (12" x 18" Framed)

Etching

Shop

Inquire
Food Is Still Hot  6" x 8"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Food Is Still Hot (SOLD)

8" x 6"

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

Inquire
Ghost Stories  11" x 13" (13" x 15" Framed)  Two-Plate Etching

Ghost Stories 

11" x 13" (13" x 15" Framed)

Two-Plate Etching

Inquire
Give Me A Place To Be  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Give Me A Place To Be

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
Here, Half A World Away  44" x 44" (Arch Shaped Painting)  Oil On Panel

Here, Half A World Away (SOLD)

44" x 44" (Arch Shaped Painting)

Oil On Panel

Inquire
Hideaway  30" x 34" (28" x 32" unframed)  Etching

Hideaway

34" x 30" (32" x 28" unframed)

Etching

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Inquire
Igloo  24" x 30"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Igloo 

24" x 30"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
It’s Getting Late  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

It’s Getting Late (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
It Was Only A Dream  48" x 40"  Oil On Mounted Linen

It Was Only A Dream

48" x 40"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)  24" x 36"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

24" x 36"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

 

Inquire
Neighborhood Watch  48" x 48"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Neighborhood Watch (SOLD)

48" Diameter

Oil On Mounted Linen

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New Year's Day  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

New Year's Day

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

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Old Blues  16" x 16"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Old Blues

16" x 16"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
Purple Fugue  36" x 36"  Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel

Purple Fugue (SOLD)

30" x 30"

Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel

Inquire
Red  22" Diameter  Oil On Panel

Red (SOLD)

22" Diameter

Oil On Panel

Inquire
Red Sun  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Red Sun

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

 

 

Inquire
Salt And Shadow  44" x 44"  Oil On Panel

Salt And Shadow

44" x 44"

Oil On Panel

Shop

Inquire
Shampoo  12" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Shampoo

12" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
Drift  8" x 10"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Snowdrift (SOLD)

10" x 8"

Oil On Mounted Linen

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Stardust  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Stardust (SOLD)

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
The Great Escape  30" x 24"  Oil On Mounted LInen

The Great Escape

30" x 24"

Oil On Mounted LInen

Inquire
The Sentinels  30" x 30" (Round)  Oil On Mounted Linen

The Sentinels (SOLD)

30" x 30" (Round)

Oil On Mounted Linen

Inquire
Three Dog Night  16" x 16"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Three Dog Night

16" x 16"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
Worried Shoes   12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Worried Shoes 

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Inquire
3:36  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

3:36 (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

 

Are We Lost?  16" x 20”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Are We Lost? (SOLD)

16" x 20”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Bedtime  18" x 24”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Bedtime (SOLD)

24" x 18”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Breakfast  18" x 24”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Breakfast (SOLD)

24" x 18”

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

Cataracts  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Cataracts (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Clearing  10" x 10" (12" x 12" Framed)  Etching

Clearing

10" x 10" (12" x 12" Framed)

Etching

Shop

Come Watch With Me  18" x 22" (20" x 24" Framed)  Five-Plate Etching

Come Watch With Me

18" x 22" (20" x 24" Framed)

Five-Plate Etching

Shop

Far From Home  10" x 16" (12" x 18" Framed)  Etching

Far From Home

10" x 16" (12" x 18" Framed)

Etching

Shop

Food Is Still Hot  6" x 8"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Food Is Still Hot (SOLD)

8" x 6"

Oil On Mounted Linen

 

Ghost Stories  11" x 13" (13" x 15" Framed)  Two-Plate Etching

Ghost Stories 

11" x 13" (13" x 15" Framed)

Two-Plate Etching

Give Me A Place To Be  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Give Me A Place To Be

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Here, Half A World Away  44" x 44" (Arch Shaped Painting)  Oil On Panel

Here, Half A World Away (SOLD)

44" x 44" (Arch Shaped Painting)

Oil On Panel

Hideaway  30" x 34" (28" x 32" unframed)  Etching

Hideaway

34" x 30" (32" x 28" unframed)

Etching

Shop

Igloo  24" x 30"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Igloo 

24" x 30"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

It’s Getting Late  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

It’s Getting Late (SOLD)

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

It Was Only A Dream  48" x 40"  Oil On Mounted Linen

It Was Only A Dream

48" x 40"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)  24" x 36"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

24" x 36"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

 

Neighborhood Watch  48" x 48"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Neighborhood Watch (SOLD)

48" Diameter

Oil On Mounted Linen

New Year's Day  16" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

New Year's Day

16" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Old Blues  16" x 16"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Old Blues

16" x 16"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Purple Fugue  36" x 36"  Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel

Purple Fugue (SOLD)

30" x 30"

Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel

Red  22" Diameter  Oil On Panel

Red (SOLD)

22" Diameter

Oil On Panel

Red Sun  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Red Sun

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

 

 

Salt And Shadow  44" x 44"  Oil On Panel

Salt And Shadow

44" x 44"

Oil On Panel

Shop

Shampoo  12" x 16”  Oil On Mounted Linen

Shampoo

12" x 16”

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Drift  8" x 10"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Snowdrift (SOLD)

10" x 8"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Stardust  12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Stardust (SOLD)

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

The Great Escape  30" x 24"  Oil On Mounted LInen

The Great Escape

30" x 24"

Oil On Mounted LInen

The Sentinels  30" x 30" (Round)  Oil On Mounted Linen

The Sentinels (SOLD)

30" x 30" (Round)

Oil On Mounted Linen

Three Dog Night  16" x 16"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Three Dog Night

16" x 16"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

Worried Shoes   12" x 12"  Oil On Mounted Linen

Worried Shoes 

12" x 12"

Oil On Mounted Linen

Shop

“I’m usually rendering things that aren’t right in front of me or are nonexistent… My images are symbolic and don’t always reflect an actual place, but are visual placeholders for an idea, emotion, or story.”

- Nicole Parker

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Nicole Parker returns to Gross McCleaf Gallery with Folklore, her second solo exhibition featuring a new collection of sensitive oil paintings. Exhibiting a range of subject matter, this body of work conveys Parker’s love for mysterious narratives while also delivering visual metaphors that capture her child-like wonder.

In Parker’s work, a sense of wistful romance is woven through each canvas. The natural world is a consistent theme as both flora and fauna are meticulously rendered with unmistakable technical prowess. She often depicts the nocturnal world bathed in soft, distant light, or landscape views of solitary roads enveloped by the profound stillness of the night. In addition, there is a recurring motif of dwellings that typically possess a beckoning glow, suggesting a safe haven of comfort, warmth and quietude.

(Image Left: Are We Lost?, 16″ x 20”, Oil On Mounted Linen)

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

In these intricately crafted worlds, structures, animals, and scenic features subtly emerge from the fog of soft chiaroscuro, as if materializing from a dream. Parker often plays a game of visual hide-and-seek, at times limiting information provided to the viewer. Subjects are intriguingly cut off at the painting’s edge or are only faintly suggested – their presence inferred by a cast shadow, as with the barely noticeable cat in Breakfast. In Old Blues, the forms of a canine and a home atop a hill seemingly merge into their environmental surroundings to become one silhouette.

This intentional sparseness allows for a leisurely and thoughtful interpretation where nuance can unfold. Conversely, in Purple Fugue and Stardust, a sense of horror vacui reigns as the viewer becomes spatially engulfed by a sea of delicate leaves and flowers. Whatever the vantage point, Parker’s paintings seem to momentarily suspend reality, transporting the viewer to another world where their imagination takes over and whispers tales of longing, nostalgia and magic.

(Image Right: Three Dog Night, 16″ x 16″, Oil On Mounted Linen)

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

The Sentinels, 30″ x 30″ (Round), Oil On Mounted Linen

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Parker’s deep appreciation of cinema is apparent in her works. She effectively paints color and light that sets the mood, time, temperature, and season of each scene with astounding specificity. To achieve this, most of her works contain a limited value range, where varying tonal shifts within a single dominant color add to the overall richness and atmosphere of her art. For instance, pale yellow light brings a cozy, winter morning to life inside an old house in Breakfast, while a soft turquoise mist portrays a cold highway road at dawn in New Year’s Day. In several of the works, burnt orange becomes reflected light on a snowy landscape and warm purple a mysterious night sky at dusk. Altogether, the result is an array of deeply evocative, emotionally resonant paintings.

Nicole Parker is currently based in Maryland. She received her BFA and Certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in 2018. During her time at PAFA, she was a recipient of the Richard C. Von Hess Memorial Travel Scholarship, which allowed her a month of travel in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Iceland to explore individual artistic pursuits of her choosing. 

(Image Left: New Year's day, 16″ x 16”, Oil On Mounted Linen)

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Igloo, 24″ x 30″, Oil On Mounted Linen

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

After graduating and completing her overseas travel, she had her first large solo exhibition at the Rouse Company Foundation Gallery at Howard Community College in Maryland, where she previously studied during high school. She had her first Philadelphia exhibition in 2021 at Gross McCleaf where she is represented. 

Nicole has also enjoyed making work and learning from other artists at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, where she was previously an Artist in Residence, and is now a Printmaking Associate. She has exhibited her paintings and prints in numerous group exhibitions along the East Coast, including in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. 

(Image Right: Give Me A Place To Be, 12″ x 12″, Oil On Mounted Linen)

Nicole Parker - Folklore - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

It Was Only A Dream, 48″ x 40″, Oil On Mounted Linen

November 16 - December 23, 2023
Reception: Saturday, December 2, 1 - 4 pm