SANTIAGO PARRA

“I know I am expressing myself when I paint but I can’t explain the source of the resulting gestures. I am not in any way suggesting that black matter is responsible for what I paint, rather I am interested in the relationship between the two unexplained movements, the one observed in the universe and the one traced by my brush.” – Santiago Parra

 

Having exhibited in world leading cultural centres such as London, Mexico, Miami and Madrid, Parra is internationally recognised for his powerful black abstract paintings on raw canvas, each made with a single brushstroke. Black Matter marks Parra’s very first solo exhibition in St. Moritz at Galerie 10 and seeks to underline his role as a protagonist in the
field of abstract painting.

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Parra’s staple medium of a blank canvas and black acrylic paint plays an integral role in his quest for autonomous expression. The simplicity of medium, and the one brush stroke technique present the purest and most seamless channels for his expression and materialisation of the unconscious mind.

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Black Matter thus poetically parallels Parra’s practise with the inexplicable and unseeable forces that control the stars and galaxies. In this way, Black Matter not only heightens the mystery behind automatic painting, but also highlights the importance of the unconscious mind in abstract image-making. 

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Santiago Parra is in the collections of the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, USA, Jorge Perez Collection, USA, Jean et Colette Cherqui ́ Collection, France, Tanya C.
Brillembourg Collection, USA, Solita Mishaan Collection, Spain, Cesar Gaviria Collection, Colombia, Kehinde Wiley Collection, USA, and Collection Lazaro, Spain.