Next Big Thing: Daisy Parris
The breakout artist uses layers of colliding colors to create simultaneous sensations of harmony and friction
Daisy Parris’s monumental, vividly colored canvases pull the viewer in with an immediate intensity. Layers of color collide, creating simultaneous sensations of harmony and friction. “Loss, rage, tenderness, identity, and queerness are the ongoing themes in my practice,” says Parris, who had an eventful 2024, with solo shows at Sim Smith in London and James Fuentes in Los Angeles and a group exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in September.
In their works, language is treated as a painterly gesture where excerpts of raw and vulnerable poetry are handwritten onto scraps and crudely stitched across the canvas. “I want the text to be honest and thoughtful, a place for reflection and a device that helps the viewer slow down,” says Parris. “I want it to encompass all the contradictions that my abstract painting does.”
Unique process: The large-scale works Parris constructs—some measuring as wide as 30 feet—require the artist to move around the pieces, adding or taking away panels as necessary. “I love the idea that a painting can grow as much as it needs to. I love getting lost in gestures and planes of color. I find painting big a challenge, physically and mentally, so it always keeps me on my toes when it comes to solving the puzzle of how to finish a work.”
In the zone: “My favorite part is when I’m throwing paint around and making bold gestures. I often do my best work when I’m manic or unhinged, because that’s when I’m less precious about what I’m making,” Parris shares. “I love when I get to the studio the next day and am surprised by what I made during last night’s frenzy.”
Current inspirations: Roni Horn, Ana Mendieta, and Leon Golub. “I always refer back to their work when I am lost or when I need some guts to be brutally honest in what I’m making.” Parris is also influenced by DIY, punk movements, and music.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Winter Issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.