Art Practical: Shotgun Review
Art Practical reviews Erik Parra's HIstory By Choice exhibition on view at Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, CA.
Form Follows Function ii
20in. X 26in.
Acrylic on Panel
I feel very fortunate that intelligent people take the time to write thoughtful comments about my artwork. Here is a very thoughtful review of my exhibition titled History By Choice, recently on view at Eleanor Harwood Gallery, in San Francisco, CA.
From the review:
"Nothing is as it seems in Erik Parra’s History by Choice at Eleanor Harwood Gallery. At first glance, the paintings of domestic interiors appeared so banal that I almost passed them by, but a faint, disquieting strangeness about the depicted spaces gave me pause. Chairs float, legless. Views of the outdoors beckon, but turn out to be mere reflections in mirrors. Shadows—which typically impart dimensionality—are so stark that they flatten entire scenes into blocks of color. Parra’s refusal of depth even extends to a would-be sculpture in the gallery’s center: a painting of a sculpture, comically installed on a pedestal like a three-dimensional object, and aptly titled Function Follows Form (2017) …”
For the entire review please click here.
Thank you for your continued support!
Erik Parra
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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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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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each devil his own
Transmission Gallery is pleased to present the work of Erik Parra. each devil his own will be an exhibition of paintings, drawings and a site specific installation.
Foyer No. 1
Acrylic, Spray Paint and Marker on Panel
14in. x 11in.
2015
Foyer No. 2
Acrylic, Spray Paint and Marker on Panel
14in. x 11in.
2015
each devil his own
December 4, 2015 - January 23, 2016
Opening Reception: Friday, December 4th 6-9pm
Transmission Gallery, 770 West Grand Avenue, Suite A, Oakland, CA 94612
Transmission Gallery is pleased to present the work of Erik Parra. each devil his own will be an exhibition of paintings, drawings and a site specific installation that draws on tropes of the horrific, mid-century aesthetics and politics to ask questions about the origins of certain current sociopolitical narratives in the vernacular of pictorial construction. In three small series of original compositions Parra conflates his personal history and knowledge with mid-century historical narratives in order to view important, current social concerns through the lens of history. This serves as an entryway into a process of constructing images that draw on our conceptions of space and the stories we tell ourselves in order to navigate the environments we build.
Interior with bricks, stairs and hutch
Acrylic with marker and spray paint
11in. x 14in.
2015
For this exhibition the interior plays host to a range of potential conversations related to aesthetics, politics and history. Central to this exhibition is an examination of postwar historical narratives; such as white flight and the American space program and their challenging effects on contemporary society. Both darkness and lightness are employed to present not only familiar looking interior spaces but also for their expressive narrative effect. Objects within each painted interior are chosen for the potential of their symbolic form to be both simultaneously loaded and banal. This duality then resonates with similar formal choices within the work and drives the potential to open new space to create productive dialogue with the attendant issues. Parra is interested in drawing on our collective cultural memory as informed by the histories of painting, film, aggressive underground music and radical politics in order to paint a critical, collective self-portrait at a very critical time.
There will be an opening reception Friday, December 4th 6-9pm.