The Space Between
The Problem with Bleached Terracotta
16in. x 20in.
Acrylic on Panel
2019
I am very excited to share that I have been included in a group exhibition titled The Space Between at Marrow Gallery in San Francisco, CA.
From the gallery:
Marrow Gallery presents The Space Between. The exhibition features the work of Erik Parra, Hiroshi Sato and Travis Weller, three Bay Area based artists whose work is an exploration of time, the constructs of environment and the artifice of intentional metaphors. Whether representing the banal (a potted plant) or the academic (a still life) the viewer begins to understand the artists intent; a declaration that there is a connection in the seemingly disconnected. The exhibition runs from January 9th until February 9th. There will be an artists reception on Saturday, January 26th from 5-7.
If you are in San Francisco I do hope that you get a moment to see this exhibition.
As always I really appreciate your support.
-Erik Parra
History By Choice
Opening of Erik Parra’s first solo exhibition, History By Choice, at the Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, CA.
Monstrous Delicious
Acrylic on canvas
75in. x 60in.
2018
I am over the moon to announce the opening of my solo exhibition titled History By Choice at the Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, CA. The exhibition opens March 3, with a reception from 6-8pm and runs through April 14, 2018.
From the website:
"We are pleased to present Erik Parra’s first solo show with the gallery. Parra is the among the first recipients of the Liquitex Research Residency Program at Minnesota Street Project Artist Studios.
Erik Parra has exhibited internationally in alternative spaces, commercial galleries and museums in Berlin, Brazil, Los Angeles, London and New York. He was born and raised in El Paso-Juárez and currently resides in San Francisco.
His solo show, “History by Choice” explores interior spaces and how the history of design informs our emotional response to the environments we inhabit. The majority of the works in the exhibit were made during the Liquitex Research Residency located within the Minnesota Street Project Art Studios.
"Maybe it is a good thing for us to keep a few dreams of a house that we shall live in later, always later, so much later, in fact, that we shall not have time to achieve it. For a house that was final, one that stood in symmetrical relation to the house we were born in, would lead to thoughts–serious, sad thoughts–and not to dreams. It is better to live in a state of impermanence than in one of finality.”
—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
Parra grew up in a home that was full of carefully selected Modern furniture chosen by his parents. Parra’s interest in design and the history of architecture stems from his childhood.
The title of the exhibit, ”History by Choice” comes from the book “Design by Choice” by Reyner Banham published in 1981.
For more information including images of available works please click here.
Buy a favorite book, The Poetics of Space, by Gaston Bachelard, a leading French philosopher who has had a major influence on my art practice.
(Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
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Liquitex Research Residency
Erik Parra has been selected to participate in the inaugural Liquitex Research Residency Program at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA.
Still Life for Jolene III
Acrylic, Spray Paint and Marker on Panel
24in x 30in
2016
I am over the moon to announce that I have been selected to participate in the inaugural Liquitex Research Residency Program! Please check back for more updates.
From the press release:
Liquitex has partnered with Minnesota Street Project to provide four Bay Area artists fully funded residencies at 1240 Minnesota Street. Developed to support the creation, presentation and dissemination of contemporary painting practices, the residency aims to support emerging artists by providing work space, materials, resources, and engagement within the studio program at Minnesota Street Project.
....
Selected from a shortlist of emerging artists, Minnesota Street Project is honored to welcome:
Micah Wood
Erik Parra
Koak
Woody De Othello
Please note: The Liquitex Research Residency Program is annually awarded to a group of artists selected by a committee including figures from both the Project + Liquitex. The Residency does not currently accept unsolicited applications.
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In the Same River Twice
state is pleased to present In The Same River Twice, a solo exhibition by San Francisco-based artist Erik Parra.
October 15 - November 19, 2016
Opening Reception: October 15, 6-8 pm
www.statespacesf.com
1295 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA
Gallery Hours: Tues. - Sat. 12-5pm
state is pleased to present In The Same River Twice, by San Francisco-based artist Erik Parra.
For his hometown, solo exhibition debut, the artist presents a new collection of drawings with a corresponding drawing installation, and new paintings with a corresponding painting installation. The work continues the artist’s line of inquiry into mid-century visual tropes and their intersection with the construction of the American Dream. The exhibition will be on view from October 15 - November 19, 2016 with an opening reception on Saturday October 15 from 6-8pm. The artist will be in attendance.
“If a man is never in the same river twice, how is he to know?”
This age-old philosophical statement is as much about self-reflection as it is about the constancy of change. In The Same River Twice delves into the correlation of the designed environment and failed utopias in order to examine the idea of the American Dream. The exhibition examines the stories we tell ourselves in order to navigate the structures we build.
Parra’s work centers on the the mid-century structure as a metaphor for the way major narratives about the “Greatest Generation” were shaped for public consumption. Through this lens of history, the artist aims to shed light on how decisions from the past have reverberated into our current social concerns.
Narrative unfolds through a language of pictorial construction where objects within each painted or drawn interior are chosen for their potential for symbolic form -- simultaneously loaded and banal. For instance, the artist uses unassuming tchotchkes to symbolize major public undertakings (American Exceptionalism, The Interstate Highway System and the Egyptian pyramids), prompting a dialogue about our cultural roots.
With an intense formal play on perspective, the artist offers multiple levels of access points for viewers to engage with these interiors. Upon initial observation, living rooms make sense as nostalgic, yet inhabitable spaces, but a closer look offers strange vantage points and dueling perspectives generating menacing, alien environments.
About Erik Parra
Erik Richard Parra was born and raised in the border metroplex of El Paso-Juárez. He received a Bachelors of Fine Art degree in painting from The University of Texas at Austin and completed a Masters of Fine Art while on fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Currently based in San Francisco, California, Erik has exhibited internationally in alternative spaces, commercial galleries and museums in Berlin, Brazil, Los Angeles, London and New York. In the Bay Area Erik’s work has been exhibited at Blankspace Gallery, Johansson Projects, The Headlands Center for theArts, Root Division, Southern Exposure, Kala Art Institute and the Berkeley Art Center. Erik’s work has been included in publications including New American Paintings, the SF Bay Guardian and the Los Angeles Times. Additionally Erik teaches art, has lectured at universities, given artist talks and has garnered residencies and awards. www.erikparra.com
About state
state is a new visual arts exhibition space in the Mission District of San Francisco. state exhibits contemporary art with an emphasis on Bay Area artists and project-based artwork. state is run by Danielle Smith and Kimberly Verde of FRAMEWORK.
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12-5pm
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Monster Drawing Rally Tonight
Southern Exposure’s Annual Monster Drawing Rally is tonight! Erik Parra will be drawing from 8:00-9:00 pm.
Monster Drawing Rally 2016
Southern Exposure’s Annual Monster Drawing Rally is tonight! and I will be drawing from 8:00-9:00 pm. Come out and say hello this is a super fun event that supports an important and great organization. You can also follow along with all the fun on social media by looking for the hashtag #MDR2016, I will definitely be posting pics!
From the press release:
The famous live drawing event and fundraiser comes to newly-opened art space Minnesota Street Project.
EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Friday, June 24, 2016
Time: 6:00 to 11:00 PM
Tickets: $15 SoEx Members / $20 general public, available at soex.org/mdr2016 and at the door
Off-Site Location: Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Southern Exposure is pleased to announce its famous annual Monster Drawing Rally, a live drawing event and fundraiser that will take place on Friday, June 24, 2016 at Minnesota Street Project. Over the course of the night, 122 artists at all stages of their careers take shifts to draw for an hour in front a live audience, bringing their private studio practices to the public. As spectators spy on the creative process, sketches morph into full-fledged artworks made from collage, watercolor, ink, and graphite or even performative acts. Finished drawings are immediately available for $75 each.
For more information please click here.
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In This Place
Erik Parra is participating in the upcoming c2c/wc project space show, In This Place.
Still Life for Jolene I
Acrylic, marker and spray paint on panel
14in. x 11in.
2016
I am excited to announce that I am participating in the upcoming c2c/wc show, “in this place”. If you are around for the opening on Feb. 6th come through! I would love to see you and you can see one of two paintings that I started and completed in 2016!
From the Gallery's Facebook page: "the artists "in this place" document their personal position in a landscape while creating situations that can experientially teleport a viewer into that space as well. By addressing fundamental aspects of how we experience a local environment, such as angle, color, proportions, and the depiction of content, they indicate not only their physical experience of the represented space, but also how they are engaging emotionally and intellectually with their surroundings at that moment as well. This is true whether the work exhibited is a more traditional take on landscape, such as that from Diane Olivier or Kerry Law, or a more conceptual rendition, such as work by Andrew Prayzner or Eilish Cullen. This exhibition also includes artists Robert Minervini, Erik Parra, Chris Ballantyne and Karen Schifano who utilize an approach from a middle ground between these two extremes of practice, which effectively ties the work featured in the exhibition together into a singular comment on the nature of a material existence.
The exhibition will open with a reception on Saturday, February 6 from 6-9pm. It will run through March 6 with gallery hours on Sundays from 12-5pm. c2c project space is at 1695 18th Street #413 in San Francisco (cross streets are Carolina and Arkansas).
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soex auction
The Southern Exposure auction is one week away! I am happy to have donated a piece in support of this vital Bay Area Arts institution.
EQUILUX
Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction
Saturday, March 21, 2015 - 6:00 PM
at Southern Exposure
3030 20th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
The Southern Exposure auction is one week away! I am happy to have donated a piece in support of this vital Bay Area Arts institution. The auction will take place on March 21, 2015 at SoEx's 20th street location in San Francisco. For more information on the auction, including advanced online bidding visit the SoEx auction website.
For more information about the tons of ways SoEx supports artists and the greater community visit the SOEX website.