José Parlá: It's Yours

by Henry Chalfant (Contributor), José Parlá (Artist), Manon Slome (Interviewer)

The energy of New York’s dense streetlife plays out on the canvases of José Parlá The latest paintings from American artist José Parlá (born 1973) evoke the artist's connection to the Bronx and address the suffering caused by redlining policies and displacement imposed by gentrification and systematic racism. The rich building-up of the surface and Parlá's signature gestural line resemble the layers of city walls, so that the paintings reflect the movement and textures of neighborhoods, the traces people leave behind and the energy of the streets.Parlá began painting on walls in Miami at the age of 10, signing his work with the tag "Ease." Supporting himself by designing album covers and concert flyers for hip hop artists, he moved to the Bronx. The title It's Yours is borrowed from a song by the influential Bronx rapper T-La Rock, who assured his fans that his work would always be about and for them. Similarly, Parlá offers this work back to the Bronx in tribute.

110 pages, Hardcover

Published April 13, 2021