John Parker
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1944, d.2017
Plain Song Quartet
- 1988
- Oil on board
- Purchased, 1989
- 1900 x 1200mm
- 89/258
Tags: abstraction, grids (layout features), squares (geometric figures)
In this abstract work the forms and patterns of the land are conveyed through texture, colour and the repetition of geometric shapes. John Parker’s clever choice of title suggests both an aerial view of the plains of Canterbury or Marlborough, and the controlled and repeated rhythms of Gregorian plainsong. On ancient musical transcripts, notes were marked with small black squares.
The sculptural surface of Plain Song Quartet reveals Parker’s emphasis on the process of painting. Parker says, “I build the paint up with a builder’s trowel. It gives broader handling than a brush - you can put on big sweeps of paint.”
Born in Auckland, Parker graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1967. He then qualified as a teacher, a career he pursued until 1975 when he was awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at Otago University. Parker has exhibited regularly in New Zealand since 1968. He has painted fulltime since 1976.
The patchwork patterns of paddocks, orchards and vineyards in the Blenheim area are an important source for this work. It belongs to Parker's Plain Song series, a large number of abstract paintings focusing on the relationships between colour, texture and form. Like an aerial photograph, it presents a field of green enlivened by the repetition of a simple shape and the counter-balancing of strong textures. The title and meditative quality evoke the medieval plainsong, a traditional chant using variations on single notes to make musical patterns from simple arrangements. Parker has described his work as "an attempt to negotiate between the absolute order of Mondrian and the anarchic energy of Pollock".
(Label date unknown)