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RAY PARKER (1922-1990)

 
From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos. From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos.
Untitled196530 1/8 x 23 1/4 in.(76.52 x 59.06 cm) oil on canvas
Provenance
Francis Frost, Rhode Island
Private Collection, New York
Private Collection, Minnesota

75,000

From the late 1950s until the mid-1960s, Ray Parker's early contributions to Color Field painting stand out remarkably for their vibrant, fresh quality. Parker arranged two or more robust, rough-edged color blocks using a vigorous, brushy technique on large canvases prepped with gesso. These blocks, rendered in saturated yet subtly vibrant colors, exhibit a distinct energy. While Parker's compositions may remind one of Rothko's, how the color is delivered — solidly and forcefully — sets them apart. Maintaining the grand scale and dynamism of the New York School, Parker's work diverges by forgoing the emotional intensity often associated with Abstract Expressionism and embraces a vision of the movement devoid of its typical pathos.
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