Living Room Nocturne

West Facing Collection

The paintings, drawings and collage in “West Facing” are created from Parra’s memory of staged interiors using sources such as architectural design books and catalogs of contemporary furniture. He selects images for compositions based on visual interest or relation to art historical compositions. Parra thinks of the choice of objects in the paintings as having a set of potential, rather than fixed allegorical connotations. The viewer brings the meaning to the objects. Objects within each image are chosen for their potential for symbolic form, simultaneously loaded and banal. His interiors play host to a range of potential conversations related to aesthetics, politics and history.

Parra is interested in an examination of postwar historical narratives; such as white flight and the American space program and their challenging effects on contemporary society. Parra says, “I am 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 of our time.”

The paintings physical qualities present a range of paint handling. Parra’s edges are sometimes precise using stencils and in other areas in stark contrast appear completely loose and “of the hand”. Parra uses lots of layers of sheer varnishes to achieve depth in certain areas of the works juxtaposed with areas of matte color. He uses chiaroscuro and high contrast in many of the compositions to create a homey steam of light or a nightscape with moonlight but almost always imbued with an elevated sense of drama or staginess. The over-the-topness of the compositions throws us out of the narrative and points to the other conversations he is trying to present.