Alexi Torres

Elon Musk

2021

Thread on Black Canvas

Thread - Alexi Torres

Ann Parkin’s current work is an exploration of new possibilities in technique and materials, as well as the expression of a new imagery for art jewelry. Historically, art and particularly craft, have been vehicles for the symbols, images and visual metaphors of society’s current view of its world and the “nature” of which it finds itself a part. Discoveries and techniques at the leading edge of science have given us astounding views of new levels of nature and reality and have provided opportunities for the development of a new set of imagery and symbols for our time. Parkin’s work has been inspired by the vast visual potential of such scientific areas as electron microscopy, nuclear imaging, “Chaos” physics, and particularly subatomic particle physics. The graphic imagery of Parkin’s current work is not, in the traditional sense, abstract but rather is a representational view of nature that we are among the first generations to see. The images of the Particle Shower series are based upon the visual records of subatomic particle physics, which show the tracks left by subatomic particles as they pass through the bubble and cloud chambers once used by nuclear physicists. Parkin reflects that, “It has been said that Science is the Religion of the modern age. If that is even in part true, then it points the way to an exciting new approach to ornamentation and imagery that goes beyond the commonly observable surface reality to re-establish the fundamental role of art/craft - the articulation and expression of underlying patterns of the natural order as an integral aspect of our created personal environment.” Born in Toronto, Canada in 1956, Ann Parkin received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 1978 and a Gemological Diploma from the Gemological Association of Great Britain in 1987. She studied metalwork, jewelry and enameling at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with renowned jewelry artists Robert Ebendorf, Rebekah Laskin, Charles Lewton-Brain and John Cogswell. Parkin’s work has appeared in group exhibitions, and as a featured artist, at Aaron Faber Gallery, NYC; Oms Gallery, NJ; Objects of Desire, Louisville, KY; Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA; New Jersey Designer Craftsmen Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ; Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX; Artist-Craftsmen of New York, NYC; Crafts National 26, Penn State University, PA; The Farrell Collection, Washington, DC; Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, OR; Views Gallery, Manayunk, PA; Sculpture to Wear, Los Angeles, CA; Craft Students League, NYC; Joan Michlin...

I am a multi-disciplinary artist who has professionally shown my work in dozens of galleries and museums since the late 1990s. But while my work can take many different forms, my practice is rooted in drawing. Whether I am working on the watercolor and acrylic pieces, or fiber-based pieces, every project and every idea begins with a drawing. Through that process I lay out my ideas, ask myself questions, experiment with different options, and try to resolve all the formal and conceptual issues I will attempt in my final piece. The themes I have explored in my work from 1999 on, and even before then, have remained the same even though my style has shifted radically. I have been interested in exploring self-portraiture, personal narratives, femininity, politics, and the use of text in art. I have remained constant in my exploration of critical theory and art history, and drawn influence from artists as diverse as Joseph Beuys, Henry Darger, and Adrian Piper.