Erik Parker

Erik Parker combines surrealism, comic book art, pop, hip hop, heavy and psychedelia, with a touch of Matisse and Rauschenberg, to create innovative work that is in demand in the U.S, Europe and Asia.

 

Parker moved to New York in 1996 and had his work exhibited at a few group shows. He was invited to paint a mural at Gavin Brown’s gallery, which was fronted by the Passerby Bar, the center of the underground art world in the late ’90s. In exchange for the painting, Parker received a free lifetime tab  at the Passerby. His work at the Passerby caught the attention of Laura Hoptman, who was a curator at the Museum of Modern Art at that time. She included Parker’s work in the first Greater New York show at P.S. 1 in 2001, which led to his first solo show at the Leo Koenig Gallery.

Parker’s career quickly took off after the Greater New York show. He began to exhibit in Europe and Japan and produced enough work to have three or four shows a year. In 2001, Parker married screenwriter Brook Dunn. The couple has two daughters. Parker lives and works in Brooklyn. His work is in the permanent collection of MoMA and other fine museums and galleries around the world.