Figures, either entwined or captured in moments of solitude, dominatePark’s compositions. However, her work remains anchored in the genreof still life painting. Park draws the viewer into her world and experiencesthrough sensual depictions of the body or quixotic portraits, yet thesurrounding details provide the narrative and context for each work. Forexample, in the painting Picture with Fruit, Flower and Flies, an imagehangs on the wall and depicts a chiseled torso with a white towelloosely gathered around the figure’s shoulders. Flies hover around atable decorated with an elbow lamp and blooming rose. Framing thebody, the erect reach of the lamp and flower’s curvature subtlyreferences feelings of arousal. Cantaloupe slices and an open magazineindicate the immediacy of the scene, as if the viewer has pulled up achair to indulge in both the sweet melon flesh and image of the nudebody. The magazine spread features a face with three eyes and alludesto watching, observing, and voyeurism, themes ever-present in Park’swork.

The painting Domaine de Fatigue highlights the balance of psychologicaltension and whimsy inherent to Park’s painting practice. A cocktail, trayof sardines, and wine bottle rest on a tabletop sheathed with a mintgreen table runner. A lone person wearily rests their head on a table,their gaze transfixed on the viewer observed through the martini glass.At quick glance it seems as if the person places their head on their ownarm, but closer inspection suggests the arm could belong to someonebeyond the picture frame. This scene nods to familiar intimacy betweentwo people, with the person’s nose comfortably nestled against thewrist of another. A hand with stiletto nails, a recurring motif in Park’swork, serves as a metaphor for sensuality, as well as dominance.

Many works on view in Eveningness explore the passage of time. Parkuses seasons and changes in light to note specific moments, both pastand present. Notably, wintery rain clouds decorate the wine labeldepicted in Domaine de Fatigue—perhaps revealing the past nature ofthe relationship portrayed in the eponymous painting. The apricotsunrise in Still Life with Slugs evokes the beginning of something—entangled slugs at dawn conjure the start of a new love. Similarly, thevarious times of day depicted in Park’s shrimp drawings imply a filmicsequence of events. Again, the viewer observes the breadth of Park’simagination as light and colour transform the horizon while the sun climbsand descends into the sea.

Press release courtesy Perrotin. Text: Joanna Robotham.