ARTIST STATEMENT
An artist’s work comes from his inner well, from depths only he can reach. I have always made art by tapping that primal resource; it has brought me to broader strokes and greater schemes.
I read somewhere that the language of art is image. In order to speak this language, we must learn to live with it comfortably, knowing that it is inevitably influenced by emotions. So an artist’s language is sometimes sensual, sometimes bold, sometimes spiritual, always the result of felt experiences.
I like to make it all happen. The work you see on these pages comes from many directions. Sometimes I wondered where I was headed and whether these new directions were worthwhile. I no longer wonder, because I’ve learned to love the mystery and the journey. Enjoy!
Patrick Parise
MORE ABOUT PATRICK
Patrick Parise’s personal journey as an artist began in his childhood. Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1952 Patrick showed an aptitude for art from an early age. “My mother was a wonderful painter but with the death of my father in 1958 she had to devote her time to working and raising four children.” In high school the young artist studied under his mother and further developed his drawing, painting and composition skills. Patrick went on to study fine art at Bethany College in Salina, Kansas under Raymond Kaymeyer, and then continued at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he became interested in printmaking under the tutelage of the Art Department’s distinguished professor, Boyd Saunders. After finishing his studio art courses at the University, rather than pursuing graduate studies, Parise purchased a Charles Brandt Etching Press and opened his own etching studio where he started making original prints.
Parise loved printmaking for the intricate compositions and diverse images he was able to achieve in his monoprints and limited edition etchings. During this period, Parise had several important commissions that would move him towards a full-time career as an artist/printmaker. However, in an effort to broaden his artistic endeavors Parise began to paint and sculpt, and has also moved into creating dynamic floor designs with wood and stone.
“I chose to stay in Columbia to be among the artists and galleries here, to be part of the emerging art community in the Southeast,” Parise explains, and “I learned to appreciate the drama of the southern landscape.” Parise’s path has led him to a wide range of subject matter. One canvas may depict the softly curving lines of the coastal landscape and the next might show a dynamic abstract composition. All of Parise’s work invites the viewer to join in the adventure of life. “I start a story with each piece I create,” Parise says, “but I allow the viewer to join me in finishing the story with his or her own experiences and emotions.” For his part of the story Parise employs bold colors and reduces the scene to its most elemental and powerful components. Each art piece vibrates with artistic energy and color, entertaining the eye and the mind. “I want to create art that convey the mystery and the journey,” the artist says, “but also the feeling of joy.”
How much can you learn about an artist by looking at his creations? A look at Patrick Parise’s body of work reveals a great deal about the artist’s life and the passion that inspires him. Parise’s bold use of color and strong compositional elements convey the intense beauty the artist sees in the world around him. With a full range of real to surreal, soft to bold, concrete to abstract, Parise’s art invites the viewer to join his journey and awaken a desire to pursue the beautiful with him.
Numerous accomplishments include Parise’s selection, among international artists, as the monthly winner of “Your Studio Competition,” Saatchi Gallery, London, England. Solo shows in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columba, SC and at City Art Gallery, Columbia, SC in 2010 and 2015 were highly acclaimed. He was chosen in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 to participate in Artfields, one of the southeast’s largest art competitions and also won a grant for a new 3D sculpture for The Children’s Garden at the Riverbanks Zoo, in Columbia S.C. Parise also was chosen to provide 150 etchings depicting South Carolina scene’s for gifts too foreign dignitaries presented by the S.C. State Development Board. He created seventy-one etchings for a twenty-five-room guesthouse at Houndslake Country Club in Aiken, South Carolina. Parise’s work was selected to be awarded by the South Carolina Joint Legislative Committee on Cultural Affairs to fourteen South Carolina businesses recognized for their contributions to and support of the arts in South Carolina. His participation in the “Palmetto Tree Project” with the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties of South Carolina brought the second-highest purchase price at auction by Sotheby’s of Chicago, Illinois. He has also designed and created 7’ high mahogany and brass candleholders for the pews at Shandon Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, as well as custom inlaid floors with exotic woods and stone for private residences. Parise’s art has received acclaim on the local, regional, and national levels as well as abroad, and his works are included in museum, corporate and private collections. Exhibitions, gallery affiliations, and collections include: City Art Gallery, Columbia, SC; Saatchi Gallery, London, England; S.C. State Museum, Columbia, SC; Gibbes Museum, Charleston, SC; I. Pinckney Simons Gallery, Beaufort, S.C; Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, Columbia, SC; Xanadu Gallery, AZ; S.C. Dept. of Mental Health; First Citizens Bank, Columbia, SC; Standard Federal Savings & Loan, Columbia, SC; University of SC, Aiken, SC; Houndslake Country Club, Aiken, SC; Springs Mills Show, Lancaster, SC; South Carolina State Fair; Beaufort Water Festival, Beaufort, SC; Parise has been an instructor and panelist for the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, Columbia College, Columbia, S.C., and Rose Hill Estate, Aiken, SC.