LONDON.- JD Malat Gallery has introduced Spark of Fire, a new series by Colombian artist Santiago Parra. This show marks the fifth solo exhibition with Parra at JD Malat, displaying a different strand of his artistic oeuvre, sensationalising his method and presenting a new form of internal dialogue that materialises deeper ventures of the subconscious mind onto the canvas.
Stories stemming from Sumerian mythology dictate tales of the first person being made out of clay; in Greco-Roman mythology, it was Prometheus who sculpted humans from clay and gifted them the spark of fire which brought them to life. These myths unravel an analogy regarding inert materials and the impetus of energy needed to bring them to life. In this exhibition, Santiago Parra presents himself as a creator, narrating stories of pure expression and journeying through his vigorous and arduous artistic process to imbue his compositions with that Spark of Fire.
Parra harnesses the purity of human impulse, directly opposing the confines of rationality previously appendaged to the banners of art history. He has stated that he solely relies on instinct and distances himself from the ‘cerebral’ acts that inform most artistic practices. To him “In the development of ideas, emotions, feelings, and intuition play an important role that we tend to dismiss. My idea was to render intuition, feeling, and emotion at the core of my practice to show how they are at the basis of creation”.
Engaging in a mental preparation that informs his artistic process, he surrenders himself to a conscious meditation where ideas and thoughts dissipate from his memory, leaving him unbound by restrictions enforced under the rational mind. This process conveys the uniqueness of Parra’s oeuvre as he is not in control of what he produces, nor is he present during the creation process. This results in an unprecedented dichotomy, with Parra acting both as the creator and his audience, subverting art historical narratives and unifying these seemingly opposing characteristics into one form. There is a correspondence that Parra’s internal self has with the external body, naturally lifting the brush from the canvas once the composition is complete, stating “my consciousness regains control very quickly, that’s her job, to be in control. When I feel that I’m coming out of the trance I know the painting must finish and I must lift my brush”.
Spark of Fire consists of fourteen monochromatic compositions that embody the raw qualities attributed to abstract expressionism. The swirl-like portrayals present a whimsical fluidity, with the deep black tonal variations paving the canvas as if instructing your eyes to follow their every direction. The geometric and jagged compositions coalesce the calmness of calligraphy with the chaos of abstraction, resulting in these texturally rich impasto portrayals that engage in an exuberant dance of liberation. Parra has also unveiled a new strand of his oeuvre, depicting artistic fulminations that reveal a new aspect of his subconscious. Evoking the physicality of action painters such as Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Parra displays dispersions of paint that merge the borders of vigour and fragility, harnessing and exerting powerful energies, adorning each composition with a spark of life.
When studying Art History, Parra found inspiration in surrealism, particularly the automatism movement which was the phenomenon of creating art without conscious thought. Undergoing an archaeological expedition on his mind, Parra’s Spark of Fire unearths his inner complexities, discovering deeper narratives of the human experience and its impact on us as individuals. Igniting his audience, he unleashes his subconscious, pulsating energy akin to a volcanic eruption, leaving the viewer with a visceral understanding of emotion and liberation in its purest forms.
– Cyrus Shirazi, 2024.
March 7th - April 6th, 2024
