Richard Parrish: Kilnformed Glass Inspired by the American West
Richard Parrish’s distinctive Mapping and Tapestry series were inspired by his early life on a farm in Eastern Idaho and growing up in the American Intermountain West. The artist’s dreams of big skies, endless prairie, and a single butte with little else on the horizon continue to inform his kilnformed glass.
About a third of Parrish’s practice focuses on teaching and traveling around the world. The rest takes place in his Fusio Studio in Bozeman, Montana, where he makes three kinds of work including commissions and a series of decorative wall pieces entitled Tapestry. His less decorative series dubbed Mapping is comprised of large hanging wall panels with bas relief surfaces suggesting landscapes, topographical, and aerial views. The surfaces with their earthier feel encourage viewers to relate to them as paintings rather than glass.
Parrish holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. He taught architecture and design at The University of Michigan and Montana State University but currently teaches classes in kilnformed glass throughout the world, focusing on the visual elements of design, color theory, and inspiration. The artist will teach four classes in Australia in March 2018. At his Montana studio, Parrish plans an expanded version of his Color Theory for Kilnformed Glass class in the summer of 2018 and a special class in September structured around the idea of Place and its potential for artistic inspiration, complete with visit to Yellowstone National Park.
Initially featured in a solo exhibition Aerial Perspectives of the American Landscape held at the Rockwell Museum in Corning, New York, Parrish’s work is now on view at the Bullseye Resource Center, in Emeryville, California. He is one of six artists participating in a group exhibition on Climate Change at Rockland Center for the Arts, Nyack, New York, titled “The Tipping Point,” scheduled for April 15 – May 25, 2018. In May 2018, works by Steve Klein, Parrish and artists-in-residence will be on view at the Pilchuck exhibition space in a show titled “Dis- Dissonance and Discovery.” Continuing his exploration of aerial views and the western landscape, Parrish will have a solo exhibition at Bullseye Projects, in Portland, Oregon, opening May 2 2018. In addition, he’ll be working on a commission for an individual associated with the United Nations inspired by the Niger River in Mali.