Kent State Downtown Art Gallery Opens Vibrant Exhibit by Kent State Alumna Patricia Zinsmeister Parker '81

Kent State University's School of Art Galleries presents the exhibition Painting in the Dark by Northeast Ohio Painter Patricia Zinsmeister Parker. The show will run from June 20 through July 14 at the Downtown Gallery, located at 141 E. Main Street in Kent, Ohio. In support of the exhibition, there will be a reception on Thursday, June 21 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. which is free and open to the public.

Zinsmeister Parker uses both her painting and printmaking skills in order to create extremely colorful compositions that dance along the border of Abstract Expressionism and Post-Modern. Her paintings are more abstract displays of still life whereas her prints are simple yet vibrant.

Patricia Zinsmeister Parker earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Kent State. Prior to her career in painting, she was a designer for the American Greetings Corporation and a fashion illustrator for a large department store chain in Northeast Ohio. In 1978, Zinsmeister Parker was invited to teach at the School of Art at the University of Akron, Ohio. For the next 19 years, she enjoyed a distinguished career as an educator, and in 1996 was awarded an Educational Research and Development Grant.

Her work now resides in many corporate, private and museum collections, including the archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, the Canton Museum of Art in Canton, Ohio, and the collections of Case Western Reserve University and Kent State. In 1996, Zinsmeister Parker was recognized by the Senate of the State of Ohio for induction into the Women's Hall of Fame for achievements and contributions in the field of Art. She had exhibited at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, the Dayton Art Museum, and the Akron Art Museum.

Kent State's Downtown Gallery is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information about Kent State's School of Art, visit http://dept.kent.edu/art.

# # #

Photo Caption:
"My Crayolas" by Northeast Ohio painter and Kent State alumnus Patricia Zinsmeister Parker is part of the exhibition Painting in the Dark on display now through July 14 at Kent State University's Downtown Gallery, located at 141 E. Main Street in Kent, Ohio.

Media Contacts
Effie Tsengas, etsengas@kent.edu, 330-672-8398
Bob Burford, rburford@kent.edu, 330-672-8516