Painting, Collage and Mixed Media by Tom White and Ginny Parsons

Exhibit Dates: August 13th – October 28th

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 13th, 3:00 – 5:00pm

Saturday Gallery Hours, 1:00 – 3:00pm

Ginny: 8/27, 9/24, 10/8

Tom: 9/10, 10/15

Drawn, Quartered, Repurposed presents the work of two long-time Bay Area artists, Tom White and Ginny Parsons. “Thinking with their hands”, White and Parsons create assemblages and collage utilizing old and discarded objects, previous artworks and elements of nature, exploring the intersection of turbulence and tranquility in their work.

For over seven decades, Tom White has experimented with a wide range of methods, including performance, painting, and sculpture. In this show, White tears or cuts pieces of his previous works into quarters or other shapes, then reassembles them to create new abstractions. White’s technique of papier collé sec or dry collage, incorporates fixed pieces collaged to a support and others left to tumble into new configurations.

Ginny Parsons has been painting for five decades on everything from found wood to old yard sale canvases using materials ranging from peanut butter to borax. This exhibit showcases her series, Bikes with Wings, created in response to grief and loss. Parsons sees the bicycle as a sign of hope for our troubled climate and often involves seaweed as a link to the natural world.

About the Artists

Tom White is a visual artist and performer living in Jingletown, Oakland. He taught at the California College of the Arts & Crafts for 24 years and has exhibited and performed in the USA, Mexico, Cyprus, Spain and China. White developed a program called Butoh Drawing; a collaboration using video, movement, and the act of drawing which inspires a spectacle shared by the performers and the audience. In August 2021, White reviewed his portfolio and tore a few unresolved drawings into quarters. En route to the dumpster, he dropped them and was astonished by the new configurations they created. Like John Cage with his ‘chance operations’ he started moving the scraps around until they formed satisfying iterations and decided to make a collage. White then sent a message to the Universe requesting just the right person for a studio assistant and Isaac Amala, a former student, offered his skills to assist. White’s pieces represent the “Drawn and Quartered” portion of the exhibit.

Ginny Parsons is an environmental artist who paints with common household ingredients like peanut butter and borax. A self-taught artist, Parsons got her BA from CSU, Chico and has lived in Alameda since the 80’s. She has curated many exhibits over the years at Rhythmix, as well as shows at the Gray Loft Gallery. Parsons also runs an Art Camp for kids out of her home/studio near Lincoln Park.

Banner Image: Top: Bike Chalk, collage on recycled canvas by Ginny Parsons, 2021. Bottom: Due Quartette I, mixed media collage by Tom White, 2022.