Born in 1940's Auckland, JS Parker
attended Ilam School of Fine Arts in Canterbury from 1962 to 1966,
graduating with an Honours degree in painting, before being awarded
the prestigious Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at the University of
Otago in 1975.
Highly influenced by the meditative
compositional structure of Mondrian and the physicality and process
of Pollock, Parker's particular style of abstraction is a
reflection on his inspiration by both nature (his surroundings in
the Canterbury Plains) and music (his affinity for Classical and
Jazz). His work expresses that inspiration through a fine handling
of both composition and
application that creates a sense of balance and finesse in the
work. Parker's sculpting of the painted surface promotes a sense of
depth that allows his large bands and blocks of colour to occupy
space without encroaching on one another. The cumulative effect of
Parker's work is that of a contemplative and rhythmical abstraction
of nature.
Parker's work is held in a number of major private and public
collections throughout New Zealand and internationally. In 2002 he
was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the in
recognition of his services to painting in New Zealand.