MARCO PARIANI
Gorgeous, Colorful Adventures in Oil + Spray Paint
Marco Pariani is an emerging artist we ought to watch for in 2021. His first solo exhibition at Cheim & Read in collaboration with The Journal Gallery in New York, which opened on February 19th, is a bright and colorful show featuring some of his most recent works, and it does not disappoint.
The Brooklyn-based artist was born in Busto Arsizio, Italy, in 1986 and he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brera, Milan. He visited Brooklyn for the first time in 2016, and after several visits, he decided to relocate there in 2019. Living in one of the contemporary art world centers has influenced his work in a big way. Following his move, he had his first solo exhibition in New York City at The Journal Gallery, which opened in February 2020, followed by a second exhibition at Deli Grocery in Brooklyn. Some significant accomplishments are already in the books for him in the short time he has lived in New York.
He is usually reluctant to outline specifics when asked to describe his work. He likes to work with a wide range of materials, such as oil, acrylic, spray paint, and various surfaces. He loves to buy and use different colors and to experiment with the materials he has around him. While his paintings could be classified as abstract, he doesn’t directly place them in that category. In an interview with Mott Projects in January 2020, he revealed that he likes to hear what others gather from his works and learn about the paintings through their eyes. That replaces talking about them himself: “My works look abstract but there’s a kind of figurative idea before: pieces of body that for me are the pink shapes, shoes, dogs and a lot of other things. I can’t say what my works are, abstract or figurative. Like I said, I like to hear what people say to describe and criticize them.” While the figures in his works might be hard to distinguish, the particular titles he gives the paintings help make sense of them. But, as Pariani acknowledges, different people might have other relationships with the works.
The large-scale paintings featured in the exhibit are brand new works created in 2020 and 2021 and are composed of bright colors (with many neons in the mix.) The most prevalent colors are pink, yellow, and orange -warm tones that create an overall cozy environment. Apart from these lively colors, the lines and shapes make the paintings and his style unique.
The show opened on February 19th and runs through March 27th, 2021. It can be viewed in person or via the online viewing room on Cheim & Read gallery’s website. Marco Pariani is a young artist to watch out for in the coming years, especially in the New York art scene.
