erikparranews

PROARTS Juried Annual 2012

2011-11-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

Please come on out see some of "the best new work in the Bay Area"!

I am excited to announce that I have been curated into the PROARTS Juried Annual 2012.

From the PROARTS Website:

The critically acclaimed Juried Annual presents a survey of the best new work in the Bay Area selected by a Juror from the national arts community. The exhibition features works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and photography. All works were selected through a blind jurying process by Chicago based curator Hamza Walker.

For more information click here.

SF Art Beat Interview

2011-11-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

From the San Francisco Art Beat:

San Francisco Art Beat visited artist Erik Richard Parra in his art studio in San Francisco’s Mid-Market. Filled with brightly colored large and small canvases, drawings, books, and writings, Erik’s studio chronicles decades of art exhibitions, scholarship, and tenure of teaching at local schools. We talked with Erik about San Francisco, the arts, and past and future artistic ventures.

Please click here to read the interview.

web update

2011-05-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Please check out some new images in the works section and an expanded press section. I have worked out a little glitch with the image information but have only corrected the recent works section. I will be working to correct all title information very soon.

Thank you very much for stopping by. Please feel free to contact me via the connect page!

Solo Exhibit Opening May

2011-04-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

A Many-Sided Spectacular : recent paintings and works on paper

Hotel Biron Gallery

May 4- May 31,2011

Opening Reception May 12 from 7-11pm

Please come by to see some new paintings and works on paper!

SOEX is a very, very magical place. Please support them they do great work.

2011-04-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

MEGA MEGA MEGA

Southern Exposure's

Annual Fundraiser & Art Auction

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction, Mega Mega Mega, features a live and silent art auction, creative projects, delicious food, drinks, and music. This is always an extremely fun event which also provides critical, direct support for Southern Exposure’s programs. I am extremely excited to have donated this peice in support of all things SOEX!

From SOEX.org

VIP Reception: 6:00 - 7:30pm

Main Event: 7:30 - 10:30pm

Live Auction: 8:30 - 9:30pm

Silent Auction: Lots begin to close at 9:45pm

PURCHASE TICKETS

Online:soexauction2011.eventbrite.com

Phone: 415-863-2141

TICKET LEVELS:

Main Event: $35 in advance, $45 at the door

VIP Reception: $150 and up (A portion of your ticket is tax-deductible)

For a complete list of artists, food & beverage sponsors, creative projects, and more, visit: soex.org/soexauction2011.html

VIP Reception

Saturday, May 7

6:00 - 7:30 pm

Purchase a host level ticket to attend the Mega Mega Mega VIP Reception. Sneak past the crowds, enjoy catered food and specialty drinks, and place guaranteed bids on silent auction art work, all in an intimate environment.

Preview Exhibition

May 2 - 5

12:00 - 6:00 pm

Visit Southern Exposure to preview the artwork and place absentee absentee bids. Images of auction artwork will also be available on the SoEx website starting in late April. The Preview Exhibition is free and open to the public.

Collectors' Tours

Wednesday, May 4

Lunchtime snacks: 11:30 am - 2 pm

Evening drinks: 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Admission Free

Reservations Requested at soexauctionpreview.eventbrite.com

Visit Southern Exposure for a tour of the art works available in the auction. These preview events help both new and seasoned collectors make an informed decision when bidding on work. Events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.soex.org/soexauction2011.html

Expectator News

2011-04-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

I am excited about the positive feedback from Expectator, my recent installation at WE Artspace in Oakland. Please see these links for some press.

From If You Can’t Make it Good Make it Big Contemporary Art Blog, By John Casey click here.

From The East Bay Express, April 20, 2011, By Dewitt Cheng click here.

Expectator is at WE Arstpace and is on view through May 15, 2011.

wild country

2011-04-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

Wild Country

Opening Reception April 9, 2011 from 7pm - 12am

On display through May 7, 2011.

A group exhibit featuring

Erik Parra

Mike Kershnar

Albert Reyes

Dve MacDowell Aaron Lawerence

Serge Gay Jr

Nick Teodori

Hugh Leeman

Bo Heimlich

Lori Koenig

Derick Montez

Alexandra Zee

Krisitn Farr

Francisco Agudo

more info

Expectator

2011-04-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

EXPECTATOR

recent drawings, paintings and installation @ WE Artspace

April 3 through May 15, 2011

Opening Reception Sunday April 3, 2011 from 2-5 pm

from the press release:

"Expectator is a painting and drawing based installation composed of images that move beyond their borders into space. Images of organized sports’ fields of play and other popular outdoors leisure activities contrast graphic and painterly sensibilities to create an engaging visual experience simmering with narrative tension. These images are sourced from popular texts, as well as from personal memory and like their subjects they are implicit in all aspects (light and dark) of the conversation. Like so much crash up derby, the works in Expectator delve head first into notions of ascension and success in relation to forms of popular culture and the history of painting."

eMail Sign Up Form

2011-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that I have added an email sign-up form on the connect page, so please stop by and sign up for my infrequent-as-possible emails containing news about exhibits and such.

Thank you for your support.

Its MDR time again!

2011-02-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

If you are in the Bay Area on Friday, February 25, 2011 please come out to club Verdi and help me support an amazing institution. I will be drawing from 7:00- 8:00 pm. This is always a great time!

From Southern Exposure :

Friday, February 25, 2011 6:00 - 11:00 PM 

Donation: $10 & UP 

Event Location: Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street (between Hampshire and Potrero)

Mark your calendars for Southern Exposure's famous Monster Drawing Rally, a live drawing and fundraising event where more than 120 artists work side by side, allowing spectators to observe them in the act of creation. Drawings will be available for purchase for $60 each, immediately after their completion. All proceeds provide direct, critical support for Southern Exposure's programs.

In keeping with Southern Exposure's mission to provide an environment accessible to art and artists, the Monster Drawing Rally sets the stage for extraordinary interaction. Supplying the basic necessities of the drawing practice--pencils, charcoal, pens, markers, ink, and paper--Southern Exposure creates the context while the artists create the content of the drawings. The evening will consist of four one-hour shifts that each feature approximately 30 artists drawing simultaneously. The Monster Drawing Rally promises to be an action-packed spectacle you won't want to miss!

Small Works, Important Presence

2010-11-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to announce an exhibition of new drawings. I will be participating in the group exhibit Small Works, Important Presence, recent works on paper by Bay Area emerging artists: Lexi Babayan, Elizabeth Bernstein, Nicholas Bohac, Kija Lucas, Jenna North and Erik Parra, at WE Artspace in Oakland, CA. If you are in the Bay Area on December 5, 2010 please come say hello during the reception, which will take place from 2-5pm. I am also available to meet for a walk through of the exhibition for those who are interested, please let me know. The exhibition runs through January 2, 2011.

Aqua Miami

2010-11-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

If you are headed to Miami between December 2 -5, 2010, I will be exhibiting new drawings and collage work with Fouladi Projects at Aqua Miami, in room #220.

Between Currencies

2010-07-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

BETWEEN CURRENCIES | RECEPTION FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, August 6, 5 - 8 pm
Shows Run: July 30 - September 11, 2010

In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Between Currencies, Erik Parra examines the tension between the meticulously cut and the shredded with his sharp juxtaposition of vintage pop media clippings and multicolored paper cutouts. These images dwell in a strange temporality, serving both as documentation of the past and a proactive peek into future shapings of collective hopes and dreams. The tangled layers of artificiality eminent in both the medium and the message- between black and white and RGB, history and desire, question the relevance of a search for American authenticity.

Johansson Projects

2300 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94612

Hours: 12-6, Thurs–Fri and Sat 11-5

Information:

510.444.9140

kimberly@johanssonprojects.com

www.johanssonprojects.com

Creative Capital PDP

2010-04-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that I am officially a Creative Capital PDP Alumnus. I would like to thank SOEX for an intense and very amazing opportunity.

Erik Parra

Welcome to the Brand New Erik Parra Dot Com

2010-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the newly redesigned Erik Parra Dot Com. This new website is a work in progress and I will continue to work with it in addition to updating new content. I have been building the site myself, with the help of Fivepoints Arthouse. I have designed the site to be easily updated so please check back often for news and new images of recent work. You can also connect via RSS on the connect page.

Please enjoy!
Erik Parra

RIP RR

2008-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed, I just found out that the great Robert Rauschenberg has passed. Rauschenberg's early works are very important to me, a feeling galvanized when I had the opportunity to catch this exhibition of his works while living in New York, a few years back. I remember spending hours at a time lost in those combines, history and that intangible that mesmerized me so. RIP Robert Rauschenberg, Thank You.

Time to Continue

2007-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

An explanation for the lapse of time can only be summed up in academic terms, that is to say I was consumed by academia. What is worse I was land locked in the center of the country with out adequate material to write about.

I was teaching color theory in the fine art department of a very large state school. At this particular research school, the fine art department is housed in the college of education and the various arts are equally without community and college organization. This is endemic of larger cultural problems with in the state, our country, etc. but this does lead to internal issues with regard to the organization of the department that are not your garden variety Hickeyean state of affairs. For instance color theory was considered an elective, that is not required by art majors, which never made sense to me, but I digress.

So there I was in the heart of middle America with out a thing to see worth writing about. Since this is no longer the case, I will resume writing about art, music and film my way, as I experience them here in San Francisco.

telling

2005-12-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Lenny Bruce Performance Film is the second to the last routine Bruce ever did because he would die one year later. In it he uses excerpts from his three obscenity trials to illuminate the flaws of trying him for obscenity law violations and the judicial system in general, all while delivering his routine. Going back and forth between trascripts from the cases, his bits and what are obviously newer adlibbed pieces we get to witness a very intelligent, creative person performing in a very relaxed way. Bruce is in the moment, comfortable enough to take risks that ultimately underscore his programme and pay off in spades for the audience.

attitude

2005-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this non-stop since I bought it a week ago, it is just that good. This is one of the first sort of comprehensive filmic ethnographies of punk that I have seen that get's it right. That is to say it is sensitive to punk as first, an idea or frame of mind and second, as an extension of American roots music blues, and rocakbilly. This film also addresses in a clear, logical way the America, London punk squabble by clearly delineating the bands that influenced each other vis a vis interviews with people that 'were in the pit' at these shows or who were integral in their respective scenes. There is an amazing short documentary about the LA punk scene which is a great suppliment to this book, this DVD also includes other shorts that address punk's affect on fashion, the influence of zines, timelines, an interview with the ever intense, self-proclaimed "Professor Hank". There is a tremendous amount of material handled in a clear, smart way but what else would you expect from a document created by Don Letts.

point-to-multipoint

2005-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is the exhibition announcement for the installation. Networks are a collection of smaller entities working together to form a larger entity. Communication, transportation and the nervous system, for instance, all share ten characteristics inherent to "systems" they each contain senders, receivers, channels, transport, traffic/payload, security, signaling, scheduling, terminals and ancillaries. There are two main kinds of networks, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint. In point-to-point networks traffic moves from one node to another such as with roads and telephones. In point-to-multipoint networks traffic moves from a central hub that controls the flow of traffic to different nodes, ie. nodes are not directly connected and resources and information are mediated. I was looking at several different systems local to Greensboro yet relevant to many neighborhoods across the country. I was also fotunate enough to be able to integrate aspects of my own studio research(outside of the residency) and inquiry somewhat seemlessly. The title of the piece refers to the numerous systems at play in the installation, the multiple layers of meaning as well as the installation's role as hub or mediator in the point-to-multipoint system of communication I have installed.

drumroll please

2005-08-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted in a while but last week I was in full production mode and could not justify posting. I didn't even check my email but now I am finished and have some photos for you to look at. The top three are an attempt to capture the enitre installation and the bottome two are some close up shots of some of the cars. I have about 52 images and will post some more in the next couple of days.

sketch

2005-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if any of this is going to make sense so please be patient with me. This is one of the final planning drawings before I get into the space and start installling, fabricating elements, painting etc. The grid on the wall to the left will be a grid of these and to the right will be a painting of several historic buldings from the area, painted amber and white, just like an old tyme black and sepia photo. That rectangle hanging in front of the back is a photo of the city council of Greensboro from the seventies I believe, that sais " City of Greensboro: Responding to Citizen's Concerns" it is going to hang in front and sort of float, it will also be lighted during the evening/night. On the floor reading from left to right there is going to be a stack of books with titles such as "Modern Carpentry", "Living in Communities", "Architectural Resources", and "The Sociaology of Urban Regions" to name a few, on top of that stack will be an empty fishbowl. next to that will be a rug of sorts that I make which has a slightly abstracted floor plan of the entire space. Next to that will be a table with record player, phone, coffee cup and some board games, there will be some flexibility as to the exact objects, then there is going to be records leaning on the leg of the table that refer to the idealized notion of the west, via record cover photos, text etc. In front of that there is a huge ball bearing that will sit atop a red pillow, on a white pillar. The only other objects will be the floor plan of the area deliniated by cars and trains. I hope that was clear and I will post images of the project in progress.

Except I will be in New York until the 20th so I will not pot until then. Have a great weekend.

myspace

2005-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a view of the space that I have to work with, the photo on the left is taken from picture frame left and the photo on the right is taken from picture frame right. I know this sounds confusing but I will include a diagram and sketch for the overall installation tomorrow, for now let us refer to the collage wall and the back wall (which is painted black). The third and fourth walls going clockwise from the beginning are the hallway/entryway and the window, respectively. All of this will make sense as it grows, and after you see the sketch.

spirograph fun

2005-08-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here is another spirograph drawing. I am completely charmed by the outcome they are so elegant, simple and seemingly perfect upon first view but as you spend time with them you notice the slight imperfections that happen as the system is put into play and the design is made. It is these physical anomolies that, as in the case of snowflakes make each, individual. In this particular drawing I have made one very ordered and decorative and then took the exact same spirograph set up and made another with the same number of rotations however I did not hold the ring as tightly in order to subvert the spirograph process and product.

progress

2005-08-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of one of the drawings that I have been working on that will essentially cover one wall of the installation that I am working on. I have begun in earnest to prepare the space because the deinstallation is complete and I cleaned the space and will have pictures of this process starting tomorrow. For now I will post two drawings this one is spirograph on scanned, output image from a drawing intstruments catalog from the early 50's. I am scanning and printing for a couple of reasons first there is only one and I want to leave it in tact and second, most importantly, I want to use numerous pages to cover one wall and there just was not enough in one catalog.