Venetian Sky

Artist Tom Parish (American, born 1933)

Date2003

MediumOil on linen

DimensionsFrame Size: 13 1/4 × 16 1/4 in. (33.7 × 41.3 cm) Image Size: 9 × 12 in. (22.9 × 30.5 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineGift of Compuware Corporation, 2015

Object numberUAC6306

DescriptionTom Parish was born in 1933 in Hibbing, Minnesota. He became interested in various art forms from a young age, being particularly inspired by his grandparent’s farm. Growing up, he gained inspiration from maps, Midwestern landscapes, and aerial photographs. He received his BFA at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1957.He then received his MFA at the University of North Dakota in 1960. Later, he became a professor of Art at Wayne State University.

Parish always placed an emphasis on art as an exploratory practice. He works off of his memory to invoke a sense of place. This heightened his interest in perspective, and how the storage of observations varies from person to person. By working off of memory, the viewer is allowed access to Parish’s subconscious and is given permission to observe an almost dreamlike memory. In this particular painting, Venetian Sky, Parish remembers a trip that he had to Venice, Italy. Although the painting does not provide any answers to a particular location, it offers a space for the viewer to ask questions.

This piece was donated to the Wayne State University Art Collection by the Compuware Corporation in 2015.

-Written by Marissa N. Gannascoli-

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