Parish Gallery was a
Washington, DC art gallery located in the
Georgetown neighborhood of Washington. It was active from 1991 to 2013.
History
The Parish Gallery was founded by
Norman Parish in 1991. Parish had moved to Washington, DC from
Chicago in 1988, and opened the Parish Gallery in 1991.
The gallery was described by
The Washington Post as an art gallery "that spotlighted
African American artists at a time when few other galleries concentrated on showing their work."
The gallery closed in 2013 upon Parish's death.
Artists represented
In the 22 years that the gallery operated, it generally focused on African-American artists and artists of color,
but overall exhibited the work of more than 170 artists from the United States,
Nigeria,
Ethiopia,
Ghana,
South Africa,
Morocco,
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
,
Jamaica,
Greece,
Turkey,
Brazil,
Spain,
England,
Russia, and
France,
including notable artists such as
Sam Gilliam,
,
Willard Wigan,
,
Percy Martin,
Evangeline Montgomery
Evangeline Juliet "EJ" Montgomery (born May 2, 1930, in New York, New York) is an American artist. Known primarily for her metal work, she has also worked as a printmaker, lithographer and curator. She received the Women's Caucus for Art Life ...
,
Victor Ekpuk
Victor Ekpuk (born 1964) is a Nigerian-born Portrait painting, artist based in Washington, DC. Ekpuk came to prominence through his paintings and drawings, which reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and ''Uli (design), Uli'' art ...
,
Lois Mailou Jones,
Romare Bearden,
Herbert Gentry,
Bruce McNeil,
and
Wadsworth Jarrell
Wadsworth Aikens Jarrell (born November 20, 1929) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was born in Albany, Georgia, and moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation, he became heav ...
.
Notable exhibitions
In a 1992 review, The Washington Post art critic noted that "It's all too seldom one gets the chance in Washington to see the work of Jamaican or other Caribbean artists in the intimate setting of a private gallery. It's therefore a treat to get acquainted with the works of Cecil Cooper,
Kofi Kayiga
Kofi Kayiga (born December 1943),
JamaicaArts.com.
and Bryan McFarlane at the Parish Gallery this month."
In 1995, a different Washington Post art critic, in reviewing a show by New York artist Lorenzo Pace, wrote that "This is a remarkably effective exhibition, particularly given the small space and a medium that often appeals to the head rather than the heart." The same art critic also wrote in a different 1995 review that "Minimalism's antithesis, abstract expressionism, can be seen in recent paintings by Kathryn Henneberry being exhibited at Parish Gallery. They are wonderfully exuberant works, big, vivid fields of color that convey a sense of spontaneity and freedom. If minimalism comes mainly from the mind, Henneberry's works come from the heart and soul."
The Washington Post's 1996 review of Wadsworth Jarrell observed that "Jarrell's works still pulse with the repetitious
rhythms, vibrant colors and
geometric
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...
symbols that
Africobra
AfriCOBRA (the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) is an African-American artists' collective formed in Chicago in 1968. The group was founded by Jeff Donaldson, Wadsworth Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Nelson Stevens and Geral ...
drew from
African art."
A 2012 article about artist Maria-Lana Queen quotes a collector as stating that "When I looked at her work for the first time I was blown away by the color from this
abstract
Abstract may refer to:
* ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott
* Abstract of title a summary of the documents affecting title to parcel of land
* Abstract (law), a summary of a legal document
* Abstract (summary), in academic publishi ...
artist."
A review of British artist Willard Wigan that same year stated that "he works of groundbreaking British artist Willard Wigan inspire awe because they are so tiny."
References
{{coord missing, Washington, D.C.
Art museums and galleries in Washington, D.C.
Art museums and galleries established in 1991
1991 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Contemporary art galleries in the United States
African-American art dealers