Stephen Parker Critique by Timothy Warrington

Stephen Parker artist critique art timothy warrington stevieStephen Parker’s vibrant Abstract Expressionist paintings are saturated with a vivacious sense of life enriched with passionate and intuitive human emotion. His bold use of colour and the dynamic gestural qualities of his work suggest an intrinsic ideological connection with artists such as Oskar Kokoschka and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, while his fluid and elegant understanding of line and shape casts reference to Tamara de Lempicka and painters of the Art Deco movement. Parker’s extensive artistic influences provide the viewer with limitless aspects upon which to cerebrate as his oeuvre radiates with the diversities and complexities of art history.
 
Throughout Parker’s collection, he intelligently coalesces juxtaposing styles with brazen and neoteric initiative that reflects the artist’s distinctly inventive perspective. Considering his avant garde use of geometric forms, correlations can be found with Auguste Herbin, Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova and the bright, mathematical shapes found in Suprematism as depicted by Aleksandra Ekster and Kasimir Malevich. However, while these elements are accentuated in his work, a simultaneous and firm affinity with the Tachisme movement can be detected to an attentive observer, particularly when contemplating Serge Poliakoff, who rejected the geometric art popular in the early 20th century as both artists tend to invoke a rebellious and inherently fluid process of creation. The striking contrasts that Parker augments between firmly linear elements and loose gesture is both visually and cognitively engaging; his work is at once heavily structured and yet also possesses a freedom of movement that provides an enthralling optical dichotomy. Indeed, through this exploration of self expression Parker strongly proclaims his individual and erudite artistic style and process, which serves as an eloquent language through which to convey his internal thoughts.
 
When considering Parker’s approach to line and form in his depictions of figures, elements of Section d’Or and Orphism are abundantly apparent; their repudiation of monochromatic Cubism and predilection for a more philosophical approach that pushes the boundaries of fine art wholly align with Parker’s academic intentions, and so primordial links can clearly be detected between the artist and Robert Delaunay, Frantisek Kupka and Fernand Leger. Parker’s artworks continue to redefine the modern creative realm through an adventurous spirit and dramatic application of paint, in which the artist inexorably challenges and astonishes the viewer through his unprecedented approach that prodigiously engages the viewer’s psyche.
 
stephen parker stevie art artist critique timothy warringtonWhile undeniably contemporary and abstract in his style, Parker further intrigues the spectator by demonstrating the perdurable traditions of stained glass artwork. This is certainly notable when considering the artist’s vibrant use of colour against harsh, black outlines, through which Parker seamlessly brings together the stained glass tropes of progressing eras in a nexus of artistic application. His pieces evoke the sense of movement, form and energy that is tangible in Louis Comfort Tiffany’s masterpieces, which simultaneously suggests an influence from Joaquín Torres-García’s ‘Constructivist Glass’. In the same instance it is possible to draw comparisons between Parker and the early stained glass of the Medieval era, which were created with the intention of visually communicating a comprehensive and emotive story. Certainly, Parker’s paintings fluently express his internal and philosophical thoughts, which cognitively engage the viewer whilst giving them a direct insight into the artist’s perspective.
 
This emblematic use of stark colour and line provides tangible links to Pop Art; indeed, his utilisation of bold primary colours combined with his unique intellectual perspective creates irrevocable connections with Roy Lichtenstein. These elements also conjure images of Sonia Delaunay, Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse who possess cognitive similarities with Parker through their individual and uninhibited artistic exploration and the loquacious aspect of the works that continues to tell its complex story to each viewer who gazes upon them.
 
Parker’s experimental and innovative use of paint represents his fervent freedom of expression, which is comparable with the effervescent energy seen in the oeuvres of Karel Appel and Willem de Kooning. His work also draws strong philosophical connections with Boccioni and Futurism, which demonstrates his implicit desire to communicate with the viewer through a sapient variety of visual influences. Further to this, a sense of Rayonsim is detectable in the scintillating sense of light that Parker creates with his adept execution of his brushwork, that contains visible references to Mikhail Larinov. His powerful and impactful pieces provide a myriad of academic and insightful perspectives to ponder as the viewer is enticed by their enthralling sense of individuality that emits a distinct primordial idea of the artist’s outlook.