José Parlá
Encyclopedia
José Parlá
b., 1973, Miami, FL
José Parlá is an artist who assumes several roles in order to create his work; he acts as a historical transcriber, and a visual raconteur. As a transcriber, he records his experiences in calligraphic and palimpsestic code. Serving as a collection of textually chronicled memories, the markings appear on backdrops that resemble the distressed surfaces he encounters – the cosmetic results of passed time – city walls marred from layers of paint, old posters, and years of neglect. As a storyteller, Parlá presents a leitmotif of an enigmatic narrative, reaching to translate moments that only a visual dialogue can convey.
into pictures that resemble distressed city walls. Art historian Michael Betancourt
divided his paintings into three categories: walls, diaries, and pictures. Walls are mural sized, diaries are smaller than walls, heavily filled with writing, and resemble a palimpsest
. Pictures are the size of traditional paintings, but their visual contents resembles the walls but without the scale. “What Parlá’s work provides to its viewers is a way to re-see the city and re-engage the value of urban life.”
Adaptation / Translation, Elms Lester's Painting Rooms, London, 2008
Reading Through Seeing, Ooi Botos Gallery, Hong Kong, 2009
b., 1973, Miami, FL
José Parlá is an artist who assumes several roles in order to create his work; he acts as a historical transcriber, and a visual raconteur. As a transcriber, he records his experiences in calligraphic and palimpsestic code. Serving as a collection of textually chronicled memories, the markings appear on backdrops that resemble the distressed surfaces he encounters – the cosmetic results of passed time – city walls marred from layers of paint, old posters, and years of neglect. As a storyteller, Parlá presents a leitmotif of an enigmatic narrative, reaching to translate moments that only a visual dialogue can convey.
Biography
Parlá was born to Cuban parents in exile in Miami, Florida. He started painting in 1983, and in 1988 received a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art & Design. He began painting on city walls using the name "Ease," following the tradition of New York subway art.Art
His paintings incorporate calligraphyCalligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
into pictures that resemble distressed city walls. Art historian Michael Betancourt
Michael Betancourt
Michael Betancourt is a critical theorist, art and film historian, and animator. His principal published works focus on the technologies of visual music, new media art and theory, and formalist study of motion pictures....
divided his paintings into three categories: walls, diaries, and pictures. Walls are mural sized, diaries are smaller than walls, heavily filled with writing, and resemble a palimpsest
Palimpsest
A palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. The word "palimpsest" comes through Latin palimpsēstus from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος originally compounded from πάλιν and ψάω literally meaning “scraped...
. Pictures are the size of traditional paintings, but their visual contents resembles the walls but without the scale. “What Parlá’s work provides to its viewers is a way to re-see the city and re-engage the value of urban life.”
Solo Shows
Cityscapes, Al Moran, Miami, 2006Adaptation / Translation, Elms Lester's Painting Rooms, London, 2008
Reading Through Seeing, Ooi Botos Gallery, Hong Kong, 2009
Exhibition Catalogs
- Cityscapes, Al Moran/O.H.W.O.W., 2006
- Adaptation / Translation, Elms Lesters Paining Rooms, London, 2008
- Layered Days, Cristina Grajales, Inc., New York, 2008
- Reading Through Seeing, Ooi Botos Gallery, Hong Kong, 2009
External links
- Artist site
- Art.Net Auction/Gallery listing
- OOi Botos Gallery
- http://www.oh-wow.com/community/joseparla/
- http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/12/artseen/joseacute-parlaacute-layered-days
- An Interview with José Parlá by The Ministry of Artistic Affairs
- An interview with José Parlá by The Block magazine