NOVEMBER 2022
TWO NEW PIECES SELECTED FOR HOLIDAY SHOW
I’m pleased to have two of my works from my summer residency in Kansas on display at Andra Norris Gallery's annual holiday exhibition, "Deck the Walls." The show will be up from November 19th-December 29th in Burlingame. You can find more details by clicking here.

APRIL 2022
TWO TRIPTYCHS SELECTED FOR JURIED SHOWS
I'm excited to announce that two of my triptychs from my most recent body of work "Cathedral" were accepted into two shows this summer. "The Candle Being Lit" will be featured in Smithsonian affiliate Annamarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center's national juried show Strange Paradise: A Window into Surrealism. The show will be on view in Solomons, MD all summer, from May 27th through September 18th. The show is juried by Anne Hyland, the Curatorial Coordinator and Exhibition Assistant at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

I am also honored that "The Pearl Inside" will be on view at the St. Louis Artists' Guild's show New Perspectives in Drawing and Painting in Clayton, MO. The national juried exhibition will be up from May 20th through June 18th, and is juried by Lizzy Martinez, Painting & Drawing Faculty at University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO.

MARCH 2022
NEW EXHIBITION + SUMMER RESIDENCY
Three of my pieces were chosen for an invitational exhibition at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Ripples will be on view until the end of August 2022. I'm also looking forward to traveling to Newton, Kansas this summer for the Mother's Milk Artist Residency. I'll be working on more abstract environmental paintings on their seven acre renovated dairy farm. 

FEB 2022
TWO WEEKS LEFT! + ARTIST TALK
Thank you to everyone who has come to see "Outside the open window" at Andra Norris Gallery so far. Quick reminder that I'll be giving an artist talk at the gallery this Saturday, February 5th from 3-5pm to share my process and for you to ask questions. I'll also be bringing a brand new piece to show and tell. The show itself is only on view for another two weeks and closes February 18th. Expect to see surreal worlds inspired by nature that combine vibrant colors with different biomes. The gallery is located at 1107 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA. I'd love to see you there.

JAN 2022
NOW OPEN: "OUTSIDE THE OPEN WINDOW" AT ANDRA NORRIS GALLERY
After a couple of years in the making, I'm delighted to share that Andra Norris Gallery is now exhibiting my latest series of environmental triptychs. The show is installed and we will have the opening reception on Saturday, January 15th from 5-7pm. The exhibition runs through February 18th.

**PRESS RELEASE**

BAY AREA ARTIST APRIL DAWN PARKER TO BE FEATURED IN “OUTSIDE THE OPEN WINDOW” AT ANDRA NORRIS GALLERY

Bay Area artist April Dawn Parker will be featured in a show at Andra Norris Gallery in Burlingame from January 8th to February 18th, 2022. “Outside the open window” will feature seven large triptych paintings from Parker’s latest series “Cathedral,” as well as small studies and drawings.

Parker’s oil paintings depict magical environments that exalt our environment. The work showcases what we can preserve with climate action. Building upon Parker’s obsession with the natural world and geometric forms, she is repurposing the triptych frame to send a clear ecological message. Expect to see surreal worlds inspired by nature that combine vibrant colors with different biomes. Each painting’s name comes from phrases of Rumi’s poetry, the 13th Century Sufi mystic.

Parker was raised in California and has worked in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, New York, and now Marin County, CA. Originally a graphic designer, Parker has shown her paintings at gallery shows, private art salons, and national juried exhibitions across the country. Parker was an artist-in-residence at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts in 2015.

"Outside the open window" will have an in-person opening reception on January 15th at 5pm. The reception and exhibition will be free and open to the public. Andra Norris Gallery is located at 1107 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010. Please see the gallery website at www.andranorrisgallery.com or call (650) 235-9775 for more information.

For further information about Parker’s work, please visit her website at www.aprildawnparker.com or find her on Instagram @aprildawnparker.

DEC 2021
OPENING SOON: SEE MY MAGICAL LANDSCAPES AT ANDRA NORRIS GALLERY
I'm thrilled to announce my new series of environmental triptychs will be on view at Andra Norris Gallery in Burlingame in the SF Bay Area. The opening reception for the show, titled "Outside the open window," is on January 15th and the exhibition runs January 8th through February 18th. You’ll see seven large trios, a few small gouache studies and dozens of drawings. Hope to see you at the show!

SEPT 2021
THREE JURIED SUMMER SHOWS
I am honored that my piece "Westward and Over" has been accepted for "Later Impressions," a national juried show hosted by the Chicago Alliance for Visual Artists at Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago, and was also awarded "Best in Show." The show is juried by Director/Founder of Chicago's Rare Nest Gallery, Keith Bringe, and artist David Gista. The show will run from September 1st - October 22nd.

"Westward and Over" is also featured in the "Director's Choice" portion of "The 31st Annual International Juried Exposition" at Viridian Artists Gallery in New York City. My piece was selected by the gallery Director, Vernita Nemec, and is on view from September 7th - October 2nd.

Lastly, I'm excited to announce my triptych "Tell Me a Secret" from my newest series "Cathedral" will be featured in Stamford Art Center's "41st Annual Faber Birren Color Award Show" in Stamford, Connecticut. This is the first of my triptychs to be accepted into a juried show. The show will be online this year from September 25th - October 31st, and was juried by Assistant Curator at the American Federation of Arts, New York, Michael Neumeister.

JUNE 2021
OUTSIDE THE OPEN WINDOW
I'm thrilled to announce that my "Cathedral" series will be featured at Andra Norris Gallery in a show titled Outside the open window, opening January 15th, 2022. A few pieces from "Cathedral" have been reviewed at NewCity.com by prominent art critic Lori Waxman of the Chicago Tribune and School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Excerpts below:

"...In her "Cathedral" series, begun in 2019, Marin County painter April Dawn Parker uses it to worship the original deity: nature. In Parker’s version, full of funky mushrooms, thick straight Redwoods, neon sunsets, dusty rose deserts and giant crystals, the West Coast is Eden. And with a style that rocks a decidedly 1970s paint-by-number vibe, the region provides both content and form... That’s an altar we all ought to be praying at, and hard." – Lori Waxman

MARCH 2021
THE NEW WORK: "CATHEDRAL"
I hope 2021 is treating you well. For over a year, I've been making my new series, "Cathedral." These large oil triptychs depict magical realism spaces. Using the frame of altarpieces, I'm exploring my obsession with organic forms and geometry, and putting an abstracted environment on the pedestal in place of religious myths. I have completed several studies and four of the finished triptychs. I will be making three more for an initial group of seven triptychs, totaling 21 panels. 

In late 2020, I enjoyed showing three of the Cathedral gouache studies at Andra Norris Gallery's holiday exposition called "Look." I painted these three small pieces at home during shelter-in-place. 

JUNE - SEPT 2019
BAY AREA TO BACK EAST
Each year, the Stamford Art Association hosts the juried Faber Birren National Color Award Show. I'm delighted to again be accepted into this exhibition. This year, my piece "Sunset Dare," which just came down from a show in Brooklyn, will move on to this show in Connecticut. The show opens Sept. 22nd and run through October. The show juried was by Meredith A. Brown, Curatorial Associate in Modern & Contemporary Art, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Earlier this summer, in June, I was pleased to have my piece "Ankle Deep" accepted into the show "Bay Area Masters." The show was juried by Ruth Waters of the Peninsula Museum of Art in Burlingame and the work was hung in the Fine Arts Pavilion at the San Mateo County Fair. 

MAY 2019
THREE JURIED SPRING SHOWS
I am honored that my piece, Sunset Dare, has been accepted for an upcoming national juried show at Trestle Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. The exhibition is charmingly called "Lobster Dinner: a show of small works," and was juried by Artist and Curator Will Hutnick. The show will open in late June.  

Also, I have the honor of being included in the upcoming national juried show, "Sanctuary," at Arc Gallery in San Francisco. My piece, "What Remains, will be exhibited in the online portion of the show, beginning mid-May. The show was juried by Bryan Yedinak, Director of Themes+Projects at Minnesota Street. 

The juried exhibition, "Something About Lines," will open this week at O'Hanlon Center for the Arts in Mill Valley (in the town where I live!). I am delighted that Juror Katy Kuhn included my piece "How Does Your Garden Grow" in the show. The Artist Roundtable and reception are on May 7th, 2019. 

I was featured on Art 2 Life, in “Improve Your Art by Looking at This,” a video by my friend Nicholas Wilton.

MAR 2019
SOEX 45th ANNUAL AUCTION 
I've donated a piece to the upcoming auction to support Southern Exposure at the Minnesota Street Project. A special VIP preview, with free entry, will be held on Wednesday, March 20th. The auction will be held on Saturday, March 23rd, 6PM-10PM. 

THE DRAWING ROOM CELEBRATES WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 
The newly established Drawing Room is mounting a show of all women artists titled "Movers and Shakers." I'm pleased to have my painting, "Pioneer," included. The show runs through March with a closing reception on Sunday, March 31st from 4 - 6PM. I'll be giving a brief artist talk on the afternoon of Sunday, March 24th.
  

JAN 2019
SFMOMA ARTISTS GALLERY 
During SF Art Week, I have two pieces up in a group show of small works at SFMOMA Artists Gallery in Fort Mason. Right next door to FOG Art+Design. Reception is on Friday, January, 18th, 5PM-7PM. 


SEPT 2018
THREE SHOWS, TONS OF GREAT ART 
ONE. Friday, September 15th, is the opening for the group show, "Skies of Gold," at Andra Norris Gallery in Burlingame. I will have half a dozen paintings up from my new series, "Dawn 'til Dusk." There will also be work from Willard Dixon, Sophie Dixon Dillo, Jane Kim, David Molesky and Irene Zweig. Come visit. SEPT 15 – OCT 27.

TWO. Have you ever attended the annual Monster Drawing Rally to raise money for Southern Exposure? It's an adrenaline-fueled crush of dozens of artists drawing on the spot and then throwing their work up on the wall for you to buy (inexpensively). The event will be held at the Minnesota Street Project, the warehouse collection of over a dozen galleries. FRIDAY OCT 5, 6-10PM.

THREE. To help my building, the ICB, celebrate its 50th anniversary of housing artists, I will be participating in Open Studios. I've ducked out of open studios in recent years to keep the focus on my studio practice, so it will be fun to make an exception. Great for the whole family. FRIDAY NOV 30 – SUNDAY DEC 2.


JUNE 2018
SHOWING AT ANDRA NORRIS GALLERY IN SEPT  In my latest series, "Dawn 'til Dusk," I'm exploring landscapes that are simultaneously geometric and organic. This work will be included in the group show, "Skies of Gold," at Andra Norris Gallery in Burlingame, opening September 15th and running through October 27th. The show will also include work by Willard Dixon, Sophie Dixon Dillo, David Molesky and Irene Zweig. Hope to see you there. 


MAY 2017
STARTUP ART FAIR WAS A BLAST  I feel huge gratitude for everyone who visited me at Startup Art Fair, many of you with colleagues, friends, and family in tow. Thank you for your engagement with my work, stimulating art conversation, and adding my pieces to your collections. It's been a pleasure to engage more deeply with our local art community and to meet so many new folks.

I was featured in two articles about my work at The IXA, an immersive design shopping experience in Southern California. The IXA blends art, design and technology by turning architecturally significant homes into temporary showrooms that double as event spaces. You can read more about it at Luxe Interiors + Design: Los Angeles and Business of Home.

FolioLink featured me in their post “Brasilia template: April Dawn Parker.”

APRIL 2017
NEXT SHOWING: STARTUP ART FAIR SF  APRIL 28-30, 2017 – FRI 2-6PM, SAT 12-9PM, SUN 12-7PM, HOTEL DEL SOL, ROOM 313, 3100 WEBSTER STREET, SF  I’m back from my sabbatical and happily painting. I will have a room at the third annual Startup Art Fair in San Francisco at Hotel Del Sol at the end of April. Same weekend as Art Market at Fort Mason.

Come visit me along with 46 other artists, where you can get the inside scoop on the artistic process and see lots of gorgeous work.

Tickets are available, including VIP passes which allow for early access.

2015
My work was written about in The Art House and the Daily Post in the respective articles “Art by America at The Art House: Trends and Traditions in Two-Dimensional Contemporary Art," and “Spotlight, Best of the Bay: Gallerie Citi.”

FolioLink featured my artwork in their “Portfolio Website Feature.”


2014
I was the National Juried Winner: Abstract at ArtSlant's 6th Showcase ArtSlant, National Juried Winner, which was juried by Jennifer Jacobs, Michal Raz-Russo and Stefan Benchoam.

My work was reviewed by Splash in their article "April Dawn Parker Exhibition Review.”

FolioLink highlighted my work in their post “Clients in the Spotlight.” 


2013
MarinScope.com wrote about me and my fellow artist neighbors in “ICB Artists Exposed.”         

Saatchi Art featured me twice in their posts “The Bright Fantastic” and "New this Week."

FolioLink dedicated a whole post to my work in “FolioLink Presents: April Dawn Parker”

ArtSlant,“Featured Artist: April Dawn Parker”

I was a National Juried Winner in the abstract category twice for ArtSlant's 8th (juried by Veronica Bruce, Wendi Norris and Charlie Hood) and 5th (juried by Neysa Page-Lieberman, Darren Jones and Deb Klowden Mann) showcase.


2012
Dwell wrote about a beautiful home in Mill Valley with my work on its walls in “Dwell Home Tours: Mill Valley Loft.”

My work can be seen in situ in the articles "Interior Alchemy" by CA Home and Design and "House Tour: Dehn Bloom Design's Allison Bloom Remodels A California Bungalow" by HuffPost.


2011
I was on CBS BAY CHANNEL 5 in their segment “Bay Sunday."

I was a featured artist from the winter open studios at my studio building which were written about on 7x7.

Marin Magazine wrote about me and the winter open studios in the online article “RSVP Hot Ticket: 2011 ICB Winter Open Studios.”