Marsha Balian & Sherry Parker: “Otherwise”
29 June-27 July 2017
Artists Marsha Balian and Sherry Parker both work in the medium of collage, using instinctive juxtapositions of found images and intuitive compositions to create works full of mystery and humour.
Balian, who leaves behind a long career as health care provider, sees her work as reflecting an interest in the pieces of narrative that make up a life. Her collages, however, are never straightforward stories. They begin with a playful mix of odds and ends, ephemera, and studio scraps. She builds on each work as improvisation, letting the sense and direction of each piece unfold intuitively. As she says, “I continue as much as I can to absorb stories, irony and the humor that is just beneath the surface. That humour feeds me and infuses my artwork where I have the lucky opportunity to celebrate and laugh.”
Of her work, Sherry Parker says: “Chance is my muse. What excites me about this medium are the ideas that flow from chance: the serendipitous discovery of ‘found’ materials, the random (unconscious) selection process, the fortuitous mistakes, and the bringing together of disparate ephemera to begin the formation of order out of chaos. I call this process ‘orchestrated chance’.” Parker’s impeccably crafted collages have much in common with classic Surrealism, with their shadowy landscapes and anthropomorphic hybrids.
(Text adapted from the gallery’s press materials)
INFORMATION
GearBox Gallery
770 West Grand Avenue
Oakland, California 94612 USA
(510) 859-5208
Hours:
Thursday-Friday, Noon-6PM
Saturday, 11AM-5PM
First Friday of the Month, 6-9PM
Image: (top)
M is for Mammal
by Marsha Balian
12″x12″
mixed media: acrylic paint, pastel, assorted papers, found imagery, pencil, colored pencil and pastel on paper and oil paint on wood panel
2017
Image: (centre)
The Journey
by Sherry Parker
8″x7.5″
mixed media collage
2015