MELANIE PARKE

Melanie Parke states that “primacy of spontaneity” and “trust in accident and chance” have always driven her work. She is constantly inspired by the works of others, nature, and “anything else that generates a spark visually, mentally or experientially.” Parke is inspired by the artists De Kooning, Twombly, Joan Mitchell, Howard Hodgkins and Matisse as well as by many of the American Realists and contemporaries working today. Parke finds inspiration in landscapes and gardens and the “iconic power a flower, a field, a farmhouse or a shoreline emanates.” The success of Parke’s work comes from her use of color, temperature, and mood and her ability to balances beauty, grace, power, and sentiment within each of her pieces.