Gesture Performing Dance, Dance Performing Gesture, José Parlá
Unveiled in June 2012, this mural was commissioned by BAM for the Fischer Building.
Measuring 7ft. high and 37ft. long, this was the first commissioned artwork for the BAM Fisher building, and Parlá’s first commission in Brooklyn. Parla builds a painterly history, using layers of abstract, gestural mark making, writing, and collage materials found on the streets, which may also include writings and images, sometimes obscured in successive layers. Writing and seeing are often linked in Parla’s works, often overlapping in the same paintings, as a reminder that we are active participants and seers.
Parlá has been included in the 11th Havana Biennale, a performative exhibition and collaboration at the Savannah College of Art and Design, an exhibition with his brother Ray at the Water Tank project, in New York City, Haunch of Venison, London, England, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York, the High Museum, Atlanta, GA and the Gross Mitchell Foundation, Dallas, Texas.
Read about the installation at BAM’s website | Read about the installation on BAM’s blog
Press:
The New York Times | CBS News
Artwork copyright of the artist, Artist Rights Society, NY
Photo credit: Michael Appleton