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.
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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.[1] He began painting on city walls using the name "Ease," following the tradition of New York subway art.[2]
His paintings incorporate calligraphy 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.[3] “What Parlá’s work provides to its viewers is a way to re-see the city and re-engage the value of urban life.”[4]
Cityscapes, Al Moran, Miami, 2006
Adaptation / Translation, Elms Lester's Painting Rooms, London, 2008
Reading Through Seeing, Ooi Botos Gallery, Hong Kong, 2009