MICHAEL_PARKES
[ Biography ]Michael Parkes had his first one-man show at Steltman Galleries back in 1977.
Steltman Galleries made one-man exhibitions of Michael Parkes at Basel Art in Switzerland, Art Chicago, Art Fair NY, Frankfurt Bookfair, Amsterdam Art Fair, Tefaf Art and Antiques Fair Maastricht and numerous exhibitions in their galleries in Amsterdam and New York from 1977 onwards.
Michael Parkes is America's leading Magic Realist painter and printmaker.
Though he studied graphic art and painting at the University of Kansas, his unique style evolved very much in isolation, after a period in which he gave up the practice of art altogether and went off to India in search of philosophical illumination: born in 1944, he was very much of the hippie generation.
Earlier on, he had painted in the generally Abstract Expressionist style normal among his teachers, but after his pause for reflection he began to draw and paint in a meticulous style of detailed representation which would enable him to give full expression to his inner world of images.
The style was in principle realistic, the subject matter magical, and Magic Realism has characterised his work ever since.
He has studied deeply in esoteric doctrine of the East and the West, and his imagery is drawn from a range of wisdoms including the Cabalistic and the Tantric, but embodied in forms from his own imagination which are immediately accessible. Here strange beasts encounter mysterious winged women, good and evil fight out their immemorial conflict (though who can be perfectly sure which is which?), and in this weightless environment worlds are unmade and remade nearer to the heart's desire.
Even as a student Parkes was fascinated by various graphic processes, and in recent years he has become highly proficient in the difficult medium of the colour stone lithograph.
John Russell Taylor, art critic for The London Times
(Author of the book: Michael Parkes
Stone Lithographs - Bronze Sculptures)
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE BOOK
Michael Parkes BooksSteltman Galleries has exclusively published and released |
Michael ParkesStone Lithographs & Bronze Sculptures 1982-1996 Text by John Russell Taylor Paperback, 93 pages, 71 illustrations in full colour ISBN 90-71867-11-0 Published in 1996 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 25,000 copies
|
The World of Michael ParkesHardcover, 208 pages, 130 illustrations in full colour ISBN 90-71867-13-7 Published in 1998 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 15,000 copies
|
|
Michael Parkes Paintings ~ Drawings ~ Stone Lithographs 1977-1992 Text by Hans Redeker Paperback, 185 pages, 179 illustrations in full colour ISBN 90-71867-09-9 Published in 1992 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 34,000 copies
|
Michael Parkes Drawings and Stone LithographsIntroduction by Suzanne Graham Hard cover, 65 pages, 70 illustrations including 52 in full colour ISBN 90-71867-05-6 Published in 1991 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 10,000 copies
|
Michael ParkesIntroduction by Frans Duister Paperback, 77 pages, 71 illustrations including 64 in full colour ISBN 90-71867-01-3 Published in 1986 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 10,000 copies
|
Michael Parkes Werkverzeichnis(Die bibliophilen Taschenbucher no. 410) Text by Hans Redeker Paperback, 146 pages, 100 illustrations including 86 in full colour ISBN 3-88379-410-4 Published in 1983 by Harenberg Kommunikation Edition: 5,000 copies
|
Michael Parkes Werkverzeichnis(Die bibliophilen Taschenbucher no. 913) Text by Hans Redeker Hardback, 146 pages, 100 illustrations including 86 in full colour, including 1 signed, handprinted Stone Lithograph. ISBN 3-88379-913-0 Published in 1983 by Harenberg Kommunikation Edition: 999 copies (sold out) |
Michael ParkesText by Leo Duppen Hard cover, 62 pages, 37 illustrations including 29 in full colour Published in 1984 by Steltman Galleries Edition: 1500 copies
|
Michael Parkes Stone Lithographs & Bronze Sculptures 1982-1996