Walls, Diaries, and Paintings features fifteen new vibrant, abstract works by Jose Parla inspired by places the artist has visited and cultures he's experienced. On view at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, the Brooklyn-based Parla's paintings evoke his memories of the various cities he's visited around the world. A "documentarian of city life" (from the exhibit's press release), Parla recreates with paint "the colors and textures of the neighborhoods and alleyways" he's seen in Havana, Istanbul, New York, Tokyo, and more.
Traces of the artist's past as a street artist in his native Miami are evident in works that suggest weathered and worn urban walls covered in tags, posters, and graffiti. Parla covered the walls of a long hallway in the gallery with graffiti and tattered fliers and accessorized one with an old, public pay phone (remember those?), giving the space a gritty, divey nightclub vibe. Parla's vivid paintings act as a visual journal for the artist—his lively, textural paintings chronicling his many travels and adventures. Learn more at Brycewolkowitz.com and check out the artist's website at Joseparla.com. Ends tomorrow, April 16th.
The Struggle Continues, 2011
Your History, 2011
Dekalb Avenue Station, 2011
If I Was Water, 2011
Order, Pattern, Organization, Form and Relationship, 2011
Victory, 2011
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