"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 an investigation of my past as it relates to my present, a memoir in the form of narrative and representational oil paintings and prints. In particular, my imagery is symbolic and revolves around the themes of memory, self and home.
Though memory is unreliable and ever-evolving by nature, I believe my reality is shaped by what I remember. Many of my own memories appear to me in highly detailed yet incomplete fragments, and these are the truest and most lucid representations of myself and my reality that I can present.
In the studio I work from memory and observation in tandem, usually preferring to step away from direct visual references as much as possible. 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. To me, my images reflect my own eclectic upbringing and the resulting sense of “between-ness”, or liminality, that manifests itself in my personal and artistic life, of feeling nowhere and everywhere at once.
My most recent body of work explores the idea of liminality, of being suspended between or on both sides of a threshold, place, idea, or category. Many feelings come along with this state of being, including uncertainty, displacement and isolation, but also autonomy and peace. These ideas appear as pictures of places and things, where two or more different (and often conflicting) light or color worlds can be viewed from one vantage point.
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 a representational fine artist specializing in oil paintings and copper plate prints, and 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.
In 2018, 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.
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. She currently lives and practices in Maryland with her partner and their animals, a cat and a rat.
Skaftafell, 36" x 36", Oil On Linen-Mounted Panel
