Frances Parker
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505.820.0807 call or text • art@owencontemporary.com
Artist Statement
My sculpture is inspired by nature and originates from the multitude of shapes and textures found in the natural world. I do not try to recreate these natural objects, but rather use them as a springboard to inspire my own organic work. For instance, I might appreciate the curve of a seedpod or the relationship between two bones lying on the ground, which then becomes the basis of a piece. Ultimately, I create the sculptures so they relate to nature rather than mimic it. There is reciprocity here: just like natural forms suggest the sculptures I create, I like to use the forms of my sculptures to evoke a response or feeling in the people viewing my work.
Since moving to New Mexico, over twenty-five years ago, the way I perceive color and use it in my work has evolved. In the high desert of Santa Fe, color comes in intense bursts and punctuates the landscape rather than dominates it. Color is now a key element of my sculptures, which I use to enhance the whole, much like a cactus becomes even more visually striking when in full bloom.
Similar to the way paintings or photographs enhance an interior room, the addition of sculpture to a garden compliments the hardscape and plants, thereby completing the outdoor space. Because my ceramic sculpture is formed from clay and so closely tied to nature, the garden is often the perfect place to view my work.
Frances Parker was born in Wisconsin and lives in New Mexico with her husband and two sons. She received an undergraduate degree in fine arts with a concentration in ceramics from Lewis and Clark College in 1990 in Portland, OR. Upon graduation, Frances apprenticed with Toshiko Takaezu, a world-renowned ceramicist. She continued on to receive her Masters from SUNY New Paltz in ceramics in 1995. Her work has been shown in museums and galleries in AZ, CO, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, WI, and South Korea. Her sculptures are in the permanent collection of the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah, WI, as well as a museum opening in South Korea in 2021, and multiple private collections all over the country. Currently, Frances creates sculpture in her Santa Fe studio as an independent, professional artist. She is also a part-time professor at Santa Fe Community College and an instructor at Santa Fe Clay.