John and Gabriel Parfitt

Biography
Gabriel was originally trained in sculpture and studied at Bretton Hall in West Yorkshire. He practiced as a sculptor in Wakefield as well as working as site technician at the Henry Moore Sculpture Park, before moving to London and making his transition to painting in 1999.

Gabriel has recently created and coordinated his own project – the Harlesden Gallery, a community minded artist organisation that champions the arts in North West London where he has lived with his partner for the last four years.

He is also the Curator and Exhibitions Manager for the long established artist group, the Free Painters and Sculptors, of which his father John is also a member.

Gabriel exhibits regularly in London and his work is in a number private collections in the UK and abroad.

Artist Statement
Gabriel’s latest ‘Anonymous Composition’ series uses silhouetted figures to punctuate exercises in composition that draw on his sculpture background, creating textured and abstract environments. The figures are anonymous to allow the viewer to place themselves in the abstract setting in order to generate an emphatic response to the painting.

Gabriel’s studio practice uses a variety of tools and techniques to instinctively apply traditional materials such as oil and acrylic paints, as well as spray paint and wax. The application of the materials is equally as important as the content of these constructions of colour and texture.

Biography

John Parfitt was born in wartime London. His childhood was spent travelling in the Far East and Europe with his parents who worked in the armed forces, before returning to the UK to study calligraphy and fine art/painting at Gwent College of Art.

A Post graduate Degree at the University of London gave him the opportunity to return to the city and be part of the exciting emerging art scene in the sixties, leading to a long career in arts practice.

John is represented in a number of galleries, including the Dolby Gallery in Oundle and the Robert Fogell Gallery in Stamford, and his work is collected internationally, featuring in private collections all over the world.

Artist Statement

John’s work includes a diversity of media including print (etching, mono-print, lino-cut), painting (acrylic, oil and wax, resin and pure pigment techniques), mixed-media and ceramics.

John’s figurative, semi-abstract images explore the human figure as a sign or symbol reduced to emotions and feelings in dynamic interaction. His work also shows the expressive nature of human motion and it's relation to space, where the collision of edges creates sensuous outlines of energy.

John’s paintings have been described as pieces that contain vibrant colour and dramatic yet sensuous lines capturing joyfully expressive moments of solitary acrobatics, Zen-like dance and tender coupling.