Leading up to the “It Ain’t Fair” exhibition by OHWOW, which is taking place this week during Art Basel Miami, we worked with OHWOW on a couple of short interviews with the artists that will be featured in the show. First up is José Parla. We talked his upcoming Art Basel Miami week and also about the work that he contributed to the exhibition.
Highsnobiety: Please introduce yourself to our readers.
José Parla: My name is José Parlá, I am a painter.
HS: What are you most excited about in this year’s Art Basel Miami? Which shows/events/exhibitions do you not want to miss?
JP: There is always so much to see in Miami during this time that is of a high quality but the most interesting for me will be the OHWOW It Ain’t Fair exhibition as I am part of it and I have no idea what any of the other artist in the group show have contributed. The Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz collection, the Rubell Collection’s “Beg Borrow and Steal” exhibition, and the Margulies collection are always on my list and of course the Art Basel Miami Beach fair.
Read the full José Parla interview after the jump, along with a closer look at his painting.
HS: How has Art Basel Miami changed over the years and what has it brought to the US art market?
JP: Art Basel has changed and helped with the cultural evolution of my hometown of Miami. As for how that has affected the art market in the US, I’ll leave that to the financial experts.
HS: Your works are included in the “It Ain’t Fair” Exhibition by OHWOW. Please give us some background on the works that are on display.
For the It Ain’t Fair exhibition, I have on display a painting titled; “3,610 Days of the Two Thousands”. It is a six by six feet painting and is one densely layered work which represents this decade of the 2000s in my personal experience and evolution as an artist. I was in New York during the attacks on the World Trade Center and I think that certainly has affected my works. Since the attacks my color palette became darker and even when I try to make lighter works they go back to dark. During the making of this work, I went through the many styles of painting I used or discovered in this time period of the two thousands. The painting is experimental. I drove my self crazy most nights working until the sun came up and even erasing the painting a few times and starting over from scratch. In the future if we were to examine the work under blue light the x-ray would reveal the many paintings and layers under the final finished work. This painting is the last painting I will have completed in this decade so it is so much a good bye to an era and as well as a hello to the light I am perceiving into the era of the new decade.
It Ain't Fair Exhibition by OHWOW | An Interview with José Parla
Title: 3,610 Days of the Two Thousands
Size and medium: 1.8 m x 1.8 m acrylic, oil, ink, latex based plaster and enamel on canvas
© Jose Parla, 2009. All Rights Reserved, Artists Rights Society, New York.
IT AIN’t FAIR 2009
Art Basel 2009
December 2 – 6, 2009
3100 NW 7 Avenue / Miami / Florida / 33127
Related posts:
»
OHWOW “It Ain’t Fair” Exhibition Recap»
It Ain’t Fair 2010 Exhibition by OHWOW»
Video: Team MADE at Art Basel – OHWOW ‘It Ain’t Fair – Materialism’ Exhibition»
It Ain’t Fair Exhibition by OHWOW | An Interview with Julia Chiang»
Jose Parla “Character Gestures” @ OHWOW LA
