Patricia Zinsmeister Parker (b.1934)
The Exception to the Rule, 2017
Materials: Acrylic on paper
Dimensions: 30” x 22”
Location at Summa Health: Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Tower on the Akron Campus (141 N. Forge St.), Fifth Floor, Hallway Outside Patient Rooms H5-135 and H5-136
About the Art
Cleveland native Patricia Zinsmeister Parker is known for her distinctive approach to art, which blends spontaneity, raw energy, and a willingness to break free from traditional constraints. Her painting The Exception to the Rule is a testament to these qualities.
Parker’s journey as an artist began when she discovered that using her left hand, instead of her trained right hand, allowed her to break free from the confines of academic realism. This shift liberated her artistic expression, enabling her to explore new techniques and approaches. Today, Parker’s body of work spans large canvases to intimate pieces, encompassing a range of media, including oils, acrylics, prints, and drawings, all of which emphasize freedom and unstudied energy.
In The Exception to the Rule, Parker utilizes acrylic paints, latex, pencil, and collage to build up the background, layering vibrant yellows, pinks, blues, and blacks. The varying brush strokes, each with its own distinct size and rhythm, reveal the artist’s process. Fine lines are drawn or painted to highlight contours and figures on the table, making the act of painting itself a central subject of the work.
The composition depicts a still life, a genre long admired for its ability to showcase color, texture, and form, as well as the fleeting nature of life. Here, Parker paints vibrant poppies in a bright blue pitcher, surrounded by fruits. This exuberant still life may serve as a celebration of the enduring quality of art, offering an "exception to the rule" of time’s passage, symbolizing a moment outside of life’s transience.
Parker’s work invites viewers to reflect on both the physicality of the painting process and the timeless beauty captured in the arrangement of seemingly ordinary objects.
About the Artist
Parker holds both a Bachelor’s and Masters of Fine Arts, as well as a Master of Arts from Kent State University. She has worked as a fashion illustrator and designer and has studied independently at Instituto de Allende in Mexico. Parker also taught printmaking at the University of Akron. Her diverse career has spanned both commercial and fine art, and she has contributed significantly to the local and national art scenes. To learn more, visit her website.
Where You Can See More of This Artist’s Work
Patricia Zinsmeister Parker has exhibited her paintings and prints in numerous solo, and group shows across Northeast Ohio, New York, Washington D.C., and Massachusetts, as well as internationally in China. She has received multiple awards, including Best in Show at the 1981 May Show. Her work is represented in several prominent collections, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, the Akron Art Museum, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Archives of the Smithsonian Institution of American Art. Parker is a founding member and archived artist at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.