Jose Parla: Memory Documents

G A L L E R I A + I L + T R I F O G L I O N E R O

JOSÉ PARLÁ: MEMORY DOCUMENTS

March 28th – May 10th 2008


The Galleria Il Trifoglio Nero is delighted to announce an exhibition of new works by José Parlá to mark the occasion of his first show in Italy.

“Parlá is fascinated with how the city constructs itself and functions as a palimpsest, upon which the experiences of those who pass through are materially inscribed on decaying walls.

He sees the city as a vertical grid, from the bridges, to the streets, down to the subterranean warrens of train tunnels, pipes and wires connecting to people living life inside apartments. The construction of the city and the passing of time find their equivalent in the way he attacks a painting, how he sees the need to layer his surfaces the way the city itself is layered.”

“As Parlá himself explains in conversation with his brother Rey “I call my works ‘Memory Documents’ because they become fragments of places I’ve been through. I am not only using paint to create my paintings, but I am also collecting bits of paper from walls, old newspapers, chunks of materials from the street or subway stations to reuse as collage onto my own surfaces and rework them until the colours of mould, rust and deterioration are right for the composition. The process may take weeks or months.” Manon Slome, Curator | The Chelsea Art Museum

“In 2005 I had the opportunity to participate in an exhibition by curator Manon Slome of the Chelsea Art Museum and Italian artist Mimmo Rotella. At the museum I installed two paintings – at wall size – both being the sum of 75ft. Together they are titled: Conversations with Rotella.

One painting was Tremont Ave and the second Canal Street. Tremont Ave, the painting – was inspired by walls in the Bronx Avenue of the same name. This piece is layered with posters collected from streets in the Bronx covered in names and signatures made in the style of people who have either passed away or are artist I once looked up to while growing up.

The idea is to pay homage to their names. Each painting bears the name of the location or experience from which it draws its source.” —José Parlá

José Parlá is a Miami native of Cuban descent. Parlá moved to Puerto Rico at a very early age before returning to Miami again when he was nine. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Parlá’s paintings have been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions: Cityscapes at Art Basel Miami Beach, Pirate Utopias with Futura at Elms Lesters Painting Rooms in London, The Chelsea Art Museum in New York where his work was exhibited with Mimmo Rotella, and most recently in Hong Kong for The New Grand Tour exhibition and video project with artists: Deanne Cheuk, Suitman and Rostarr.


A fully illustrated catalogue featuring texts by
Francesco Sborgi and Greg Tate will accompany the exhibition.

Gallery hours : Tuesday – Saturday 14.30-19.30
Galleria Il Trifoglio Nero
Palazzo Ducale
Piazza Matteotti 80-82
Genova, 16123, Italy
www.iltrifoglionero.com