HYMNS TO LIGHT RICHARD ADAMS J.S. PARKER 19 Sept - 10 October 2008 Preview Friday 19th Sept

There is an instant and absorbing appeal in the abstract paintings of J.S. Parker and Richard Adams. Their virtuoso use of colour relationships, and layered compositions appear effortless. The artists were chosen to exhibit together because of their compelling response to both their immediate environment as well as the influence of music and spirituality. Bands or horizon lines of light and colour build up into melodic and spiritual rhythms: Hymns to Light.

For price enquiries please contact Lydia Baxendell: lydia@gallery33.co.nz

Richard Adams draws inspiration from nature. Colour, texture, shape and surface are a response to his environment. His sharp minimalist vertical and horizontal bands, intersected with pencil fine lines, form a structural base balanced by optical restraint and painterly freedom.

Through skilful application of paint and keen observation Adams depicts surfaces exposed to the elements. Like fine mist or dust whirling through the air, or the weathered and pealing surface of a boat hull, Adams layers veils of colour one upon the next before scumbling, scraping and paring down the composition to its bare bones. In Strength for instance, partially concealed behind rectilinear wedges of burnt orange, navy and grey, a distinct azure hue bleeds and feathers to the surface. Adams paintings often recall the nautical, and in recent works allude to his father’s prior role in the Royal Navy. Precise horizontal strips of contrasting colour speed across the canvas, suggestive of a boats plimsoll line.

For Adams, music and painting are interrelated art forms. Not only an established artist, he also displays a passionate flair for the jazz violin, which he plays as part of the renowned Nairobi Trio ensemble. He explains ‘I paint when I'm not playing the jazz violin. The two go hand in hand. One sets the other on fire. When I feel good about my playing at night, the next day in my studio the painting always goes well. Painting should improve as the artist matures, just as in jazz the more you play, the more you understand the value of improvisation and a greater sense of confidence can emerge. This allows the artist to make a direct statement from within. With jazz less can be more, as in painting five strokes can say as much as five thousand.’ (1)

Born in London in 1957, Richard Adams began working in the New Zealand film industry during the 1970s. After publishing a book of poems and etchings in 1979, he began exhibiting his paintings in 1982 in Wellington. Since then, the Auckland based artist has become nationally and internationally renowned for his work, exhibiting in Tokyo, Sydney, New York, London as well as a regular exhibition programme throughout New Zealand.

For further images and information regarding the artist click on the link to his artist page: Richard Adams

Richard Adams, Commodore (2008), oil on paper, 1030x820mm (framed)	Richard Adams, Enrich (2008), oil on canvas, 1200x1200mm	Richard Adams, Haven (2008), oil on paper, 1030x820mm (framed)

Richard Adams, Strength (2008), oil on canvas, 1100x1100mm	Richard Adams, Tenor (2008), oil on paper, 1030x820mm (framed)

For both Richard Adams and J.S Parker, music has been an unwavering motivation within their artwork. While Adams pares and refines his surface structure, J.S. Parker is well known for his large-scale densely layered impasto paintings. Parker, one of New Zealand’s foremost abstract painters is renowned for his Plain Song series. Highly regarded by collectors nationally and internationally, his works are an exploration of texture and balance, a harmonic rhythm of colour, within an imposing grid structure.

The title Plain Song has several meanings: it refers both to the medieval Gregorian chant (music being a constant source of inspiration for Parker), and also to the structure of the plains of Canterbury and Marlborough. It is further an allusion to the cubist preoccupation with two-dimensional planes and conveys the concept of simplicity, minimalism and absence of decorative elements. Parker uses the two-dimensionality of the planes and the corresponding sense of freedom to put a sense of ‘space’ into the painting.

Parker’s ability to imbue a sense of place and atmosphere through chromatic rhythms is extraordinary. His paintings often allude to the natural world, describing elementals such as land, sea and sky. He gathers and reduces imagery, responding for instance to the light falling on the plains of Canterbury and Marlborough, the surface of a familiar rock formation or the horizon line on a winter morning.

There is an inner radiance, strength and life force within each of Parker’s artworks achieved through his acute awareness of light and tonality within the composition. Applying paint with a palette knife, Parker utilises broad sections of thick texture and colour to emphasise the poetic nature of tonal variation. Seams and squares in melodic hues emerge and retreat within Parker's sculpted surface as he exposes a depth of layer and structural rhythm.

Of his latest series at Gallery Thirty Three, the artist states ‘through my paintings I am attempting to capture the essence of light and colour. Hymns to Light are really what these paintings are about. Light is a spiritual and elusive substance while colour is sensual and factual.’ (2)

Born in Auckland, New Zealand 1944. Parker currently lives and works in Blenheim. The artist gained a Diploma of Fine Arts (Honours), School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, in 1966 and has subsequently exhibited on a regular basis. His work is held in numerous public and private collections throughout New Zealand and internationally. He was awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, University of Otago in 1975 and the O.N.Z.M., Queens Birthday Jubilee Honours List 2002.

For further images and information regarding the artist click on the link to his artist page: J.S. Parker

J.S. Parker, Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Landscape Elements (2008), oil on canvas, 1000x800mm	DETAIL: Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Landscape Elements	J.S. Parker, Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Verdigris (2008), oil on canvas, 1000x800mm	DETAIL: Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Verdigris

J.S. Parker, Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Weathered Red (2008), oil on canvas, 1200x1000mm	DETAIL: Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Weathered Red	J.S. Parker, Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Matisse's Blue (2008), oil on canvas, 1200x1000mm	DETAIL: Plain Song - Hymns to Light- Matisse's Blue

(1) Richard Adams, Artist statement, 2008

(2) J.S. Parker, Artist statement, 2008

Text by Lydia Baxendell 2008