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Biography

Erin Parish (b. 1966 – St.Louis, MO) creates deeply meditative work. Her abstract imagery, which alludes to the universal and the specific, invites the viewer to reflect and interpret, and become an active participant in bringing the work to life.

Composed principally of fields of circles, Parish’s paintings do not have primary focal points, but rather implied depth, created by the use of resin resulting in textured surfaces that guides the eye. Layered and dense, Parish’s works convey a distinct tension between the textured surface and the underpainting resulting in structurally rigorous and complex compositions. 

Abstraction is deeply personal. As a non-representative style, it is void of all reference to our physical world, and allows the viewer to interpret and project their own emotional and spiritual feelings onto it. Parish’s hope for those who come in contact with her work is that they truly take their time exploring it. She intends for a conversation to occur between painting and viewer – preferably over a significant length of time. Parish likes to imagine that her paintings reside with people who will meditate on them often, observing how they change under different lighting situations, seasons, even internal emotional shifts. The full complexity of her works reveals itself little by little – a gradual unraveling. 

Although her works are complex and sophisticated, they are equally approachable and open.