BIO

Trude Parkinson is a visual artist based in Portland, Oregon, whose primary medium is painting. She received her MFA in Painting and Drawing from Arizona State University and has served on the Art Department faculties of Marylhurst University and Arizona State University. Parkinson has worked as a visiting artist at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center and in the Visual Arts Program at Princeton University. Her work has been selected for the Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum, exhibited at The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, and at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. She has had solo exhibitions at The Scottsdale Center for the Arts, the University of Arizona, and Wolfson College, Oxford University, England.

More recently, Parkinson has been granted a Visual Arts Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission and a stipend from the Heitland Foundation for a painting residency in Worpswede, Germany, and a Project Grant from Oregon’s Regional Arts and Culture Council. Her work is in many collections nationally an internationally, including the Henry Ford Collection and the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Her life and work are deeply informed by Buddhism, Jungian psychology, and all forms of literature. She is represented by Augen Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

STATEMENT

The human body, with all of its vitality, mutability, and scars, is an accretion of stardust. And it oxidizes.

So I make its image by oxidizing sheet silver and silver leaf on silk, recycled kimono fabric, or paper, adding oil paint, graphite, or whatever medium adds an element of surprise.

I steal, taking inspiration from sources that happen to pass my way. Some, like Buddhism, have been around a long time. Some, like Jung’s philosophy of shadow, found me when I was young, browsing through a neighborhood library on a search for freedom. Others, like Morandi’s repetition of imagery, linger and then surface. Still others, I find daily in books such as the fantastic Ardor by Roberto Calasso or in small discoveries like fingerprints visible in a terracotta figure from the Minoan era.

I work slowly, allowing time to seep into my images.

I search for accidents as though they were signs.

I paint as a passion, as play, and as meditation.

RESUME

Download Trude Parkinson’s Resume (PDF) »

EDUCATION

MFA, Arizona Sate University, Tempe, AZ (Painting and Drawing)
BA, University of California, Berkeley, CA (Art and English)

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions (selected)

2017 Emanations, Riverside Art Gallery, Riverside, CA 
2016 Emanations, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2014 Elusives, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2014 Elusives, Helzer Gallery, PCC, Rock Creek, Portland, OR (Curator, Prudence Roberts)
2011 Prompts, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2007 Hidden Stories: Paintings by Trude Parkinson and David Airhart, The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. Retrospective of five painting installations from the 1997 Oregon Biennial to new work from a 2004-5 painting residency in Germany with readings from poetry and text on the backs of paintings. Catalog. (Curator, Terri Hopkins)
2005 Worpswede Gastfreundschaft, www.worpswederkuenstlerde, Virtual exhibition.
2002 Somebody/Something Nobody/Nothing, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR, 9/11 collages and books from photocopies of papers found on rooftops in Manhattan after Sept. 11, 2001.
2001 Memory: Substance and Spirit, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR. Installation of double-sided paintings.
1999 Artifacts, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR. Installation of double-sided paintings; drawings, sculpture, and books.
1997 Accomplices: Memory and Metaphor, Nine Gallery, Portland, OR. Installation of double-sided paintings.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)

2016 Convocation, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2016 Visions & Revisions, Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art, Portland, OR
2015 Pacific NW Art Annual, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
2015 Group Show, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2014 Group Show, Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2013 Collision, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA
2013 2D-3D Works, L.H. Horton, Jr. Gallery, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA
2012 Visual Poetry, L.H. Horton, Jr. Gallery, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA
2011 4th Annual Juried Show, Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA
2010 Album (exhibition and book), The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2008 Painting’s Edge, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2008 Painting’s Edge, Parks Exhibition Center, Idyllwild, CA
2008 Icons, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006 A Family Is…, Exhibition of painting and poetry, Chicago Cultural Council, Chicago, IL. Double-sided paintings. First place award.
2005 Memories and Incidents, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Double-sided paintings.
2005 Reverberations, Nine Gallery, Portland OR. Installation on sound and silence with Elizabeth Stanek.
2004 Visual Poetry, Pringle Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. Double-sided paintings.
2003 Memories and Incidents, Belmont Factory, Portland, OR. Installation of double-sided paintings, in Reallegories, part of Core Sample, a city wide invitational. Catalog.
2003 Showcase, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA. Double-sided painting.
2003 Equinox, Paris Gibson Square Museum, Great Falls, MT. Double-sided paintings.
2001 Grace, Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. Double-sided ladder painting, prints, and books.
2000 Wonder Women, Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. Collage.
2000 Gallery Artists, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR. Double-sided paintings.
1999 Book Show, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR. Artist’s book.
1999 Invitational Figure Drawing Show, Art Department Gallery, Rock Creek Community College, Portland, OR.
1998 Accomplices: Memory and Metaphor, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR; Hallie Ford Museum, Willamette University, Salem, OR. Installation of double-sided paintings from the 1997 Oregon Biennial.
1997 Accomplices: Memory and Metaphor, Oregon Biennial, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1997 Behind Closed Doors, Flanders Street Lofts, Portland, OR. Installation exploring the limits of perceptual adaptation.
1997 Figurative Artists, Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR. Double-sided paintings.

CURATING

2007 Curator, with Terri Hopkins, Unexpected Watercolor, University of Seattle, Seattle, WA
2005 Curator, with Terri Hopkins, Unexpected Watercolor, Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. Exhibition of contemporary west coast artists who explore unconventional approaches to watercolor.

AWARDS (selected)

2012 Professional Development Grant, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, OR for strategic planning.
2012 Purchase Award, Portable Works, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, OR
2008 Oregon Art Beat, filming and televised broadcast of the exhibition, Hidden Stories, at The Art Gym, followed by a painting session and interview, OPB, Portland, OR
2008 Painting’s Edge, Idyllwild, CA. Selected for painting residency involving discussions with Pat Stier, Fred Tomaselli, Peter Plagens,, Mark Bradford, Beatriz Milhazes, Andy Moses, Leslie Shows, Ben Weiner, and Laurie Fendrich
2007 Project Grant, Regional Arts and Culture Council for Hidden Stories: Paintings by Trude Parkinson and David Airhart, an exhibition of double-sided paintings and catalog at The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2006 1st place award, double-sided paintings, Northwest Culture Council, Chicago, IL
2006 Guest artist on www.worpswede site featuring artists from Worpswede, Germany.
2004-5 Heitland Foundation, stipend, Celle, Germany, painting residency, Worpswede, Germany, July-November, 2005.
2004-5 Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship, Oregon Arts Commission, Salem, OR. Painting residency, Worpswede, Germany, July – November, 2005.
2003 Purchase Award, Portland Community Colleges, Portland, OR. Poster and purchase of three double-sided paintings for permanent collection.
2002 Project Grant for Reverberations, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, OR. Installation with Elizabeth Stanek on the theme of sound and silence.
1998 Crescordia Award, award for artistic and environmental excellence in public art for Cordova Gardens, Phoenix, AZ

PUBLIC ART

2005-6 Mind Moves Matter, Oregon Arts Commission History Chronicles with Carol Sherman. Dixon Recreation Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Two collages with multiple historical images, 36” x 48” each.
2001 Reflections, Phoenix Arts Commission, Phoenix, AZ. Addendum to Cordova Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona. Objects in a wall on the theme of reflection..
1999 Earth Time, permanent installation, Center Green Building, Boulder, CO. With Jeanne Fetterman, architect. Copper and found objects embedded in columns. Seven collages, 15” x 20” to 40” x 60”.
1998 Cordova Gardens, Phoenix Arts Commission, Phoenix, AZ. With Michael Dollin, landscape architect. Half mile of median strip (31st Ave. and Bethany Home Rd.): sculpture with found and fabricated components, including telephone poles; colored concrete with embedded, inscribed, and etched surfaces; cast bronze circles with images.

MEDIA (selected)

2008 Oregon Art Beat, filming and televised broadcast of the exhibition, Hidden Stories, at The Art Gym, followed by a painting session and interview, OPB, Portland, OR
1998 Cordova Gardens, Televised documentary, on community involvement in a public art project, Phoenix Arts Commission and Channel 11, Phoenix, AZ

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (selected)

2015 Yewjournal, inclusion in a journal of poetry and visual images.
2014 Studio Visit, Contemporary Art Council, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
2013 Studio Visit, Northwest Art Council, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
2010 Panel, Album exhibition, The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2010 Studio Visit, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR
2009 Thesis Review Committee, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
2009 Advisor to thesis and independent study students, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2005 Curatorial essay, Unexpected Watercolors, Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR and CoCA, Seattle, WA
2005 Panel for the Oregon Arts Commission to select artists for the Helen Gordon Child Development Center at Portland State University, Portland, OR
2003 Collages read as poetry, Soapstone Artist Colony, Portland, OR
2003 Four lectures on double-sided paintings, Portland Community Colleges, Portland, OR
2001 Artist’s talk, Grace, Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2000-1 Design Team Roster, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, OR
2000-1 Mentor for immigrant Cuban artist, Victor Palenzuela, Artist Mentorship Program,
International Resource Center of Oregon, Portland, OR
1999 Panel for the Regional Arts and Culture Council, to select artists for the Multnomah County Building artwork and artist residencies, Portland, OR

RELATED EXPERIENCE (Selected)

1997-09 Instructor, Art Department, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. (2-D Design, Color Theory, Watercolor, Drawing, Painting)
1995-7 Instructor, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR. (Mixed Media, Watercolor)
1993-4 Visiting artist, Visual Arts Program, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (Painting)
1991 Visiting artist, Pyramid Atlantic Press, Washington, D.C. (Collage)
1981-8 Faculty Associate, Art Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Watercolor)

REVIEWS, ESSAYS, CATALOGS (Selected)

2014 “Trude Parkinson: Elusives,” Richard Speer, Willamette Week, Portland, OR. (September)
2014 Elusives, a catalogue of paintings from the exhibition, Elusives, at Helzer Gallery, Portland Community College, Rock Creek, Portland, OR. Essay by Prudence Roberts. (April)
2007 “Trude Parkinson: Sightings and Passages.” A catalogue of paintings from the exhibition Hidden Stories: Paintings by Trude Parkinson and David Airhart. Essay, “The Transit of Memory” by Victoria Ellison. Published by The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR
2007 “An Odd Duet of Styles,” Victoria Blake. A review of Hidden Stories: Paintings by Trude Parkinson and David Airhart (December)
2005 “Auf Wegen der Vergangenheit,” Wumme-Zeitung, Worpswede, Germany. Review of paintings by Donate Holz, art historian, expert on Paula Modersohn Becker. (November)
2005 “’Reverberations‘ at Nine Gallery,” Artweek. Review by Lois Allen. (September)
2004 “Core Sample,” catalog. Essay by Pat Boas on Memories and Incidents in the exhibition Reallegories, Clear Cut Press, Astoria, OR
2004 “Oregon Arts Commission Announces Visual Arts Fellowships,” Oregon Arts Commission, Salem, Oregon (July)
2004 “Philadelphia Arts,” Art Guide, Philadelphia, PA (May).
2003 “‘Reallegories’ at Belmont Factory,“ Artweek. Review by Pat Boas (October)
2003 “Riding the Art Train,” The Oregonian, Portland, OR. D.K. Row. (September)
2001 “Grace,” The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, OR. Essay by guest curator, Sarah Ellen Taylor. (April-May)
1997 “Oregon Biennial,” Monograph, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1997 “Can Do Kanjo,” Willamette Week, Portland, OR. D.K. Row (August)
1997 “Art for Biennial: A Fresh Look,” The Oregonian, Portland, OR. Randy Gragg (July)
1997 “And the Winners are…,” Willamette Week, Portland, OR. D.K. Row (July)

GALLERY AFFILIATIONS (Selected)

2016-2017 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2010-2017 Augen Gallery, Portland, OR
2007-2008 Margo Jacobsen Art Dealer/Gallery, Portland, OR
2004-2005 Pringle Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998-2004 Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR