Sean Parrish

Art is many things to me: a refuge, a daily ritual, a medicine for the mind, a vehicle for learning, a secret code, a public diary, a transporter, a suit of armor, a vulnerable display. Above all, art is an instrument for re-enchanting a disenchanted world. I began exploring art seriously in my early twenties when a painter friend introduced me to modern art movements and figures like Egon Schiele, Art Brut, Kurt Schwitters, Abstract Expressionism and the “combines” of Robert Rauschenberg. I immediately fell in love with their spirit of play and inventiveness, often disregarding conventions about the materials and aesthetics deemed appropriate to fine art.

My studio practice still draws on these early inspirations focusing on non-objective abstraction, collage and assemblage. I have always been interested in bringing disparate parts and ephemera into dialogue. In my current works I am crafting structures drawing together different materials such as papers, fabrics, wood and acrylic sheeting. I make marks and develop surfaces on these supports using painting and various printmaking techniques before collaging them into compositions on custom made display panels.

An entire series of works can begin from a texture seen while walkin...

PhD European History, Duke University, 2015.

Sean Parrish

Public Art Exhibitions:

2025 – April 4-May 24, Solo Exhibit of New Works, Betty Cone Alcove Gallery at the Greenhill Center for NC Art.
2024 – Sept 29-Nov 17, 59th North Carolina Artists Exhibition, Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh, Raleigh, NC.
2023 – March 4-6, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, Fl.
2022 – March 3-5, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, Fl.
2021 – Guest Artist, Five Deuces Galleria, St. Petersburg, Fl.
2020 – Images: A Festival of the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Fl.
2019 – Mainsail Art Festival, St. Petersburg, Fl.
2019 – 60th Winter Park Sidewalk Festival, Winter Park, Fl.
2019 – Sean Parrish: Natural Histories, March, 2019. Rialto Theatre. Tampa, Fl.
2019 – January, Art Beth-El, St. Petersburg, Fl.
2018 – PAVA Annual Member Exhibit, Creative Pinellas Galleries, Largo, Fl.
2018 – November, Winter Park Autumn Festival, Winter Park, Fl.
2018 – July, “The Cool Art Show”, St. Petersburg Coliseum, St. Petersburg, Fl.
2018 – March 4-6, Gasparilla Festival, Tampa, Fl.
2017 – November, Dunedin Arts Harvest, Dunedin, Fl.
2016 – March 4-6, Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, Fl.
2016 – January 20-21, Beaux Arts Festival, Miami, Fl.
2015 – Dunedin Art Harvest, Dunedin Fl.
2015 – Feb 28-Mar 1, ...