Chromatic Accelerator, 1968

In the early 1960s Parkin met Claude Tousignant when she began to make regular trips to Montreal to follow his art as well as the work of Guido Molinari, Yves Gaucher, and Charles Gagnon.

“I used to take clients to Montreal. I spoke enough French to get by. To begin with I would call the dealer to contact the artists. Mira Godard was the director of the Agnes Lefort Gallery at the time, and there was the Galerie Libre. The artists were glad to meet people like me to help them introduce their work to English Canada, so they opened their studios and invited me in to talk.

“Every time I would go to Montreal, I would visit Tousignant. He was a very funny guy—I loved his sense of colour. His concentric pieces are so strong and had a powerful kinetic energy. One day I was at his studio when he was taking masking tape off a circular piece like Chromatic Accelerator. Tape was a key part in making such works. He asked me to help take the tape off this day. It was interesting, because as we unwound the tape, the painting revealed itself and the circles would come together. It was very exciting to see how the colours would evolve. I love sense of colour. His iconic target pieces are so strong because his concentric vivid colours have such a powerful kinetic energy.”