In medias res

The art of José Parlá (born 1973) lies at the boundary between abstraction and calligraphy. His practice originated in graffiti's experimental and collaborative approaches during the 1980s. Composed from layers of paint, gestural drawing and found ephemera, his work evokes the histories of urban environments. Using the backdrop of New York and many other towns, he recreates in paint what appear to be photo realist fragments of what he sees in the chaos of the metropolis and the history of our neighborhoods, showing how words, signs and marks come to mean more over time. These markings express Parlá's desire to articulate or divulge the passing of time, and to celebrate the symphony of diversity, both incongruous and harmonious, that surrounds us. In Medias Res concentrates on the portion of Parlá's work that stems from his experiences of living and traveling in various countries--his time in Puerto Rico, his childhood in South Florida in the 1980s, extended journeys throughout the southern United States and Central America in the 1990s and, most recently, his travels throughout Europe and Asia. Spanning painting, watercolor, photography and sculpture, this volume shows Parlá at his most versatile and cosmopolitan.