/ Biography
Born in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Lives and works in Santa Barbara, CA and Berlin, Germany.
Reacting to Southern California living, Alaskan R. Nelson Parrish voices his work through color. Drawing from skiing, surfing and auto racing, Parrish uses personal experience as source material. The objects are comprised of: resin, pigmented resin, racing stripes, wood and fiberglass, resulting in a hybrid of painting and sculpture.The work concentrates on the disengagement of the participant from the peripheral, as occurs in adrenaline sports, and forces a focus upon the present moment. In these moments, a heightened sensation of calm is induced, despite the tumultuous and chaotic surroundings. The melding of these emotions, and seemingly disparate elements, create a synergetic experience. The objects are a visual translation of this synergy.Using experience and materials as signifiers, the work is a reflection of our current landscape. This synergy ultimately centers upon the question of natural verses synthetic.
Museums + Exhibitions
R. Nelson Parrish went on to study at the University of Nevada-Reno and Deakin University in Geelong Australia. After an internship with the United States Senate in Washington, D.C., he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nevada-Reno and a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara. His work is primarily focused on the languages of color, motion and the contemporary landscape; creating visceral and tangible narratives that reflect our contemporary times. Parrish has had notable solo exhibitions at the BMW Welt, Munich, Germany; The Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT; Sheppard Gallery, Nevada, Reno; and Edward Cella Art+Architecture, Los Angeles, CA. Group exhibitions include Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, CA, Sense Fine Art, Menlo Park, CA, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, Alaska, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA, Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA, Galerie Nobel, Oslo, Norway, Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, Telluride, CO; Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA; Art, Design and Architecture Museum, University of California-Santa Barbara and Galerie Hegemann, Munich, Germany.
Galleries
Notable Collections
Rob Lowe
John Legend
The Hermes Family
Belinda Stronach
Andrew Firestone
Ray Scherr
Niraj and Jill Shah
Corporate & Institutional Collections
University of Texas Tech
University of Nevada-Reno
Renown Hospital
Gibson Guitars
Lolë
Soul Poles
Nitro Snowboards
Fluidstance
Impact HUB
Press
Los Angeles Times
Architectural Digest
Vogue
Art Ltd.
Outside Magazine
Visual Art Source
Kinfolk
Conde Nast
C Magazine
Santa Barbara Magazine
Departures
American Airlines