This fall, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill will present two significant exhibitions featuring renowned artists Ralph Gibson and Charlotte Park, both with deep ties to the East End. Photographer Ralph Gibson, a resident of New York and East Hampton, draws inspiration from the region’s natural and creative environment, which has long nurtured artists who have made significant contributions to the art world at large. “Charlotte Park: The Life of Forms in Color” exhibition will include over 70 paintings and works on paper. Although often overshadowed by the fame of her husband, James Brooks, Park’s work speaks to the organic beauty of the East End, a recurring theme in her abstract compositions.
Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, Executive Director of the Parrish Art Museum, said, “I’m thrilled that these two exhibitions celebrate artists who have had a profound impact on the East End art community and beyond. Ralph Gibson’s command of photography and his poetic eye for comparative expression, and Charlotte Park’s bold yet delicate contributions to the late 1940s to early 1950s Abstract Expressionist movement are two tremendous contributions to the field of art. They both reflect a deep connection to East End nature and human expression at large. Their art not only demonstrates their mastery but also continues the timeless conversation between art and the world around us, and the relevance of this region.”
“Ralph Gibson—Nature: Object” features photographs from a series based on the relationship between shapes found in nature and human constructs, positing that nature is visually evident in all genres of industrial design. Architecture is evoked in the correlation between form and ergonomic function. In this exhibition, Gibson highlights the relationship between perspective, color, and proportion. The 35mm Leica format and optical glass are essential components of the work, and the dimensions of the frame are based on the ancient Greek “Golden Mean.”
“Charlotte Park: The Life of Forms in Color” is a survey featuring more than 70 paintings and works on paper, drawn exclusively from the 2017 gift of works to the Parrish by the James and Charlotte Brooks Foundation. Park kept a low profile over the course of her career while painting some of the strongest and most brilliantly colored canvases of her time. Color and form, often related to the living environment surrounding the studio she shared with her husband, were strong and constant forces in her work.
The exhibits are on view from October 27 to March 2.