You wont be having one of those Parla design rugs then Brad?.

Crikey Bob! that room must be hard to negotiate with wall to wall parla rugs and those trainers too, it could make a person dizzy.

i actually made one of the rugs into a moo-moo

if it is investors they have damn good taste. That said, with the control he exerts over who gets what, I have a strong feeling most work is in the hands of people who truley appreciate it.

Brad pitt huh? ssure makes it sound like thats really him, seriously doubt it tho! I know he's a clooector of some urban art tho

I personally don't see Jose being lumped in to the "urban art" category by anyone other than forumites for much longer. Truth be told, he never really was part of it in the first place, as his work has more in common with Cy Twombly, Mimmo Rotella(and the other new realists), Mark Tobey, Clyfford Still, Anselm Keifer, calligraphists, etc. than the typical Warhol, McGee, Fairey, Kaws, Basquiat, Futura, Haring, Blek mix generally seen in this genre.

I view Basquiat as a precedent. Despite SAMO, the Post-Graf show at the Janis Gallery, the small gallery shows alongside Daze, Toxic, Blade, Noc 167, L.A. II, and others, Basquiat will always be considered a neo-expressionist by the art world. Although he showed with them at one time, his artistic peers aren't the taggers/writers. His peers are Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Francesco Clemente, etc.

In my opinion, Parla, despite his background as a writer and currently showing at galleries like Elms Lesters, and like Basquiat before him, will not be pigeon-holed into what we view as the current genre, will not be dragged down by association, and his work will outlive the fad.

To me, that is not really correct. I feel that the current scene has most definitely not been around for over 30 years. The work exhibited at the Post-Graffiti show at Sidney Janis Gallery in 1981, the original NYC tagger work, and the work currently exhibited today at street/urban shows are not the same genre; they don't come from the same place.

Graffiti and Post-Graffiti died in the 1980's. The current scenes roots go back to the 1990's American work of Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, and KAWS, and various UK crews, who established a new paradigm.

i think you missed his point.

not sure if it has been mentioned, but talking to the folks at elms lester at the lister show, theyre trying to get a signing arranged for the show but nothing set in stone yet. they werent keen on doing it like the last italian show where the books were signed in advance. theyd prefer a meet and greet. fingers crossed as that would be great. huge queues i imagine tho.

Aside from how mesmeric Parla's work is, one of his major strength's is proving that he is more than just a graf writer / street artist / tagger. Whilst this may strongly inform his work, it provides a starting point that develops into so much more than that. This is why he transcends the whole "street" tag, and in my eyes will be an artist who lasts beyond the vast majority of artists who are considered street.

Any guesses on the pricing at the October exhibition (even though it'll all be gone beforehand!)? Large watercolours must be £10K and the smaller canvas/wood pieces (3' x 2') (he won't do anything smaller now) must be approaching £20K now. All very much out of reach for most people. Bonhams cite they have Parla in their October auction:

"The sale will continue to document the incredible phenomenon of street art, by focussing on works by a selection of established and emerging international artists, such as Keith Haring, Antony Micallef, Faile, Jean Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Jose Parla, and Adam Neate" (www.bonhams.com)

Wonder what that will bring?

cgi.ebay.com/VISVIM-FBT-JUNE-13-JOSE-PARLA-CL-ELK-BISON-SHOES-US-9-5_W0QQitemZ160274442187QQihZ006QQcategoryZ63850QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

2 watercolours are defo in for the auction...

Check this new work out
joseparla.com/news/index.html

This is great and slightly different from previous works,especially the pasted fluro colours.