Contents Diary of an artist ‘the Art of Appropriation’ by Philip Wright
7–10
‘Diary of an artist’ series
2
Press Photo II
14
At the End of the Day
16
Carnival
18
I am Painting (Nude with Horse)
53
Puppet
54
Self-therapy
56
The Swimmer
58
The Swimmer II
59
TV
60
Press Photo
62
other stories
Dealing with Death
20
Eternal Recurrence
22
‘the theatre of Painting: Words for Pedro Paricio’
Falling in Love
24
by Juan Manuel Bonet
The Golden Clown
26
The Golden Player
28
‘Magic charMs’ series
Icon
30
Magic Charm Acrylic Pot
84
Looking for Me
32
Magic Charm Brush
85
A Moon’s Dream
34
Magic Charm Cigar
86
A New Day ... a Good Day
36
Magic Charm Hat
87
Painter’s Bath
38
Magic Charm Palette Knife
88
Paranoia
39
Magic Charm Pen
89
Pay Day
40
Magic Charm Pocket Square
90
Thinking of the Future
42
Magic Charm Shoe
91
Dialogue
44
Magic Charm Tie
92
The Golden Boy: Vision, Soul and Mind
46
Magic Charm Wine Bottle
93
Good Night, Bad Morning
48
I am Painting
50
‘Dialogues’ series
I am Painting (Nude with Cigar)
52
Every man is an artist
PeDro Paricio
67–79
96
I always say the same thing, hoping to say
‘Digital Painting’ series
something different
97
Architectural Study
132
I am making art
98
Demolition III
134
Study for a Birth
135
Study for a Portrait of Bad Luck
136
Study for a Stain on Red Carpet
137
I have no alibi, as much as a beer I want to feel something; I just want to feel
100 101
‘size Me’ series Circus Tent Illuminated by Spotlights (Foot)
104
‘Destructures’ series
Crushing Machine’s Paint (Wingspan)
106
Portrait of Antonio Anselmi, 1150
140
Rubik Twister (Head)
107
Dune
142
Black Lodge
143
Little Motorbike
144
‘looks like’ series Grey Rhinoceros with Digital Landscape
110
Prospecting
112
‘the canary ParaDise’ series
Religious Painting
113
In the Mood for Love
148
Steam Cleaner
114
Into the Wild
150
Two Views on the Legend of Time
116
Under the Stars
151
Unlucky Gold and Silver
118
A Confederacy of Dunces
152
Urban Development
119
Johan Cruyff
153
What if I had been born in 1910?
120
Yubarta in an Amusement Park
121
Artist Biography
155–156
‘after francis Bacon’ series Self-portrait with Television
124
Study after Francis Bacon III
126
Three Studies for a Self-portrait
128
contents
3
Diary of an artist
‘[Paricio] has said, “Painters should read, watch films, travel and live, but, above all, they should study their own tradition”. These paintings represent his Auseinandersetzung – his grappling – with his own tradition: while he is alive, it will be work in progress.’ Philip Wright
the Art of APProPriAtion PhiliP Wright Philip Wright is a British writer on art and former Curator of Compton Verney House Trust
We are now transiting the internet or Digital
misnamed Post-Modernist fashion in art,
era, our first experience of instantaneous and
architecture and design. the eclecticism of the
unlimited access to any and every category of
Post-Modernist approach had already offered
information and imagery collated by the human
people other than the originator permission
race to date. this represents an infinitely richer
to ‘appropriate’ and manipulate images and
musée imaginaire than the french writer and
objects well before the possibilities, let alone
future Minister of culture andré Malraux could
the consequences, of the World Wide Web were
ever have envisaged when he began to develop
understood. What is more, it was possible for
the idea in the 1920s. his imaginary museum
this borrowing to be done without addressing
was a response to the proliferation of available
the philosophical and cultural meanings that had
photographic images-as-information, which
supported and justified the earlier movements
exploited the ability of the camera to create
of Modernism, abstract expressionism, Pop
new images by focusing in on details, angles,
art and Minimalism. for Paricio and other
lighting effects, magnification or miniaturisation.
contemporary ‘appropriators’, such styles may
the result of these visual explorations was that
evoke associations, but as artists they are
the scale, significance and emotional impact of
not expected to subscribe to the movements’
the object photographed could be transformed
defined existential beliefs.
1
into something quite distinct from its original. Paricio has intuitively seized upon this idea of isolating a chosen motif to translate it into
the mystery and horror of death and
a novel and highly personal idiom. Malraux’s
decomposition, constantly present and
notion coincided with – or more truthfully arose
veritable sources of dread to the medieval
from – the Dada and surrealist movements’
and renaissance mind, are tellingly depicted
manipulation of images, principally through use
in hieronymus Bosch’s terrifying vision of the
of the new medium of collage and emerging
last Judgement, or with greater eloquence
photographic processes and techniques from
and restraint in albrecht Dürer’s Knight, Death
soviet russia, germany and france. in a witty
and the Devil. in his Dealing with Death, Paricio
reversal, Paricio has elected to go back to
subverts the subject into cartoon-filmic horror,
traditional paint, but in a style that skilfully
exploiting the sci-fi power of X-ray vision, but
exploits the repertoire of contemporary media
without losing the underlying iconography of
and design.
the memento mori. Death, however ghostly in appearance, is still the omnipotent creature who knows that he controls human destiny and
ironically, this same Digital era followed straight
places a term on the full measure of anyone’s
on from the era of the proclaimed and possibly
achievements. similarly, Paricio’s Thinking of
‘the art of aPProPriation’
7
and the americas – illustrates transmissions, transformations, rediscoveries and revivals. the not uncontroversial thesis of Martin Bernal in Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization 2 sits alongside transmissions of greek thought and its physical manifestations to rome which cannot be disputed. thence the culture spread to Byzantium and Baghdad, with resurgences in renaissance europe and finally in the neo-classical revival of the nineteenth century. that century’s pre-Post-Modern notion of plundering previous styles for their imagined virtues of association – egyptian revival, the empire style of napoleonic france, neo-gothic, neo-renaissance, neo-Baroque and Beaux-arts in rapid succession – led art, architecture and design into stylistic bankruptcy. it was against this eclecticism that the impressionists, art nouveau and, eventually and comprehensively, the Future takes an image of renaissance piety
the Bauhaus rebelled.
to remind us of the single outcome of living of which we can all be certain: the end-ceremony of laying-out for burial.
the catalyst for their rebellion was, in a strange twist of fate, the creation of World exhibitions. it was less the 1851 and 1862 great exhibitions
8
such ‘appropriation’ is clearly central to human
in Britain, which focused on the virtuosity of
history and development. Babies learn with
modern industry’s creations and reproductions,
it, cultures thrive through it. Mediterranean
than the Paris expositions universelles of 1867,
civilisation – not to speak of the other great
1889 and 1900. coinciding with and illustrating
focal points in south asia, the far east, africa
the Western european powers’ grab for colonies
PeDro Paricio
afro- and indo-america’. Picasso would continue to be the first to originate, assimilate, transform or remix styles with such prolixity that he astonished and confounded his contemporaries to the extent that several took to hiding work in their studios before he came to visit. tiring of, or perhaps exhausted by, inventing, in his seventies Picasso would turn to measuring himself against the great Masters he most admired – gustave courbet, Jacques-louis David, eugène Delacroix, edouard Manet, rembrandt van rijn and Diego Velázquez – in a prolific series of variations on one masterpiece by each artist. in his own ‘Master Painters’ cycle, Paricio has already borrowed iconic imagery from his favourite historical artists to rework in his own idiom, and again in his series ‘Diary of an artist’ he chronicles his looking and choosing, alighting on past masters such as raphael and van gogh to render his own particular homage to the great and for resources and markets across the
canon of Western art.
world, the exhibitions offered vestiges of those indigenous cultures to Western eyes – in many instances, for the very first time. on a literal
such an uninhibited approach to appropriation
level we see claude Monet’s Madame Monet
– with irony underlying, and also a tinge of
in a Kimono (La Japonaise), Jules Massenet’s
nostalgia – recalls the generation of Pop artists:
King of Lahore, Vincent van gogh’s Père Tanguy
as much Jasper Johns, andy Warhol and roy
(surrounded by ando hiroshige prints) and
lichtenstein in the united states as richard
giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. however,
hamilton and Peter Blake in Britain. indeed,
the art of Pablo Picasso and his contemporaries
it has aesthetic or polemic twentieth-century
was affected more fundamentally by the impact
antecedents in the collages of kurt schwitters,
of so-called ‘primitive’ art, initially mainly
Max ernst and raoul hausmann on the one
african, at Paris’s trocadéro Museum and in
hand, and on the other in the subversive antics
the shops of the new dealers. this was most
of Marcel Duchamp and the surrealists over
tellingly explored in the encyclopaedic 1972
the objet trouvé. additionally, if Pop art can
Munich olympics exhibition, ‘World cultures
be seen as a reaction to the high seriousness
and Modern art: the Meeting of european art
of its predecessor, abstract expressionism,
and Music with [that of] asia, africa, oceania,
in turn the undisguised and deliberately
‘the art of aPProPriation’
9
controversial ‘appropriations’ of sherrie
a brief scan of Paricio’s studio walls might
levene – watercolour renderings of Mondrian
illustrate his inspirations and catalogue the
paintings and photographs of Walker evans’s
artists whom he most admires, besides his
photographs – and the more than 200 virtuoso
omnivorous appetite for photography itself.
self-transformations of cindy sherman can be
although the work in his present exhibition
seen as a response to the reductionism and self-
shows a uniformity of technique – using carefully
negation of Minimalism.
delineated fields of prismatic colours – it is a stage he has reached after deploying variations and contrasts of painterly passages with expressionist vigour in earlier paintings. this stylistic development will also doubtless not be the artist’s last throw. his appropriation of themes and configurations from Bosch to Bacon and from caravaggio to katz are unmistakably in his signature style, with handwork that mirrors but sidesteps the precision and digital perfection of today’s computer-generated imagery. he is not ashamed of transparent borrowings from within art’s history, which form the point of departure for many of his paintings, but is adamant that he must also live in the present. he has said, ‘Painters should read, watch films, travel and live, but, above all, they should study their own tradition’. these paintings represent his Auseinandersetzung – his grappling – with his own tradition: while he is alive, it will be work in progress.
1
literally, ‘imaginary museum’, but often translated as ‘museum without walls’. Malraux’s book of this title examines the sequence of changes in the way art has been experienced and studied. he begins with items created to fulfil specific functions, progresses to works collected in museums and categorised by period and location of origin, then discusses the photographic revolution that has allowed access to the culture of all civilisations in a form of virtual museum. [all notes are editorial.]
2
Bernal suggests that egyptian and Phoenician colonisation played a major part in the formation of greek culture, with a lesser role accorded to invasion from the north by indo-hittites; he interprets traditional accounts of the birth of Western civilisation as racially prejudiced retellings of history.
10
PeDro Paricio
‘DiAry of An Artist’ series 2011–2012
Press Photo II (2012) Acrylic on linen 200 x 150 cm
14
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
15
At the End of the Day (2012) Acrylic on linen 81 x 65 cm
16
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
17
Carnival (2012) Acrylic on linen 100 x 73 cm
18
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
19
Dealing with Death (2012) Acrylic on linen 200 x 240 cm
20
PeDro Paricio
Eternal Recurrence (2012) Acrylic on linen 100 x 81 cm
22
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
23
Falling in Love (2012) Acrylic on linen 200 x 200 cm
24
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
25
The Golden Clown (2012) Acrylic on linen 200 x 100 cm
26
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
27
The Golden Player (2012) Acrylic on linen 97 x 130 cm
28
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
29
Icon (2012) Acrylic on linen 200 x 150 cm
30
PeDro Paricio
Looking for Me (2012) Acrylic on linen 92 x 65 cm
32
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
33
A Moon’s Dream (2012) Acrylic on linen 73 x 92 cm
34
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
35
A New Day ... a Good Day (2012) Acrylic on linen 81 x 100 cm
36
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
37
Painter’s Bath (2012) Acrylic on linen 90 x 73 cm
38
PeDro Paricio
Paranoia (2012) Acrylic on linen 92 x 65 cm
‘Diary of an artist’ series
39
Pay Day (2012) Acrylic on linen 100 x 81 cm
40
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
41
Thinking of the Future (2012) Acrylic on linen 40 x 200 cm
42
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
43
Dialogue (2011) Acrylic on linen 130 x 162 cm
44
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
45
The Golden Boy: Vision, Soul and Mind (2011) Acrylic on linen Each painting 200 x 150 cm
46
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
47
Good Night, Bad Morning (2011) Acrylic on linen 100 x 81 cm
48
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
49
I am Painting (2011) Acrylic on linen 116 x 89 cm
50
PeDro Paricio
I am Painting (Nude with Cigar) (2011) Acrylic on linen 92 x 73 cm
52
PeDro Paricio
I am Painting (Nude with Horse) (2011) Acrylic on linen 220 x 131 cm
‘Diary of an artist’ series
53
Puppet (2011) Acrylic on linen 244 x 152 cm
54
PeDro Paricio
Self-therapy (2011) Acrylic on linen 80 x 80 cm
56
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
57
The Swimmer (2011) Acrylic on linen 130 x 130 cm
58
PeDro Paricio
The Swimmer II (2011) Acrylic on linen 130 x 130 cm
‘Diary of an artist’ series
59
TV (2011) Acrylic on linen 92 x 73 cm
60
PeDro Paricio
Press Photo (2011) Acrylic on linen 150 x 150 cm
62
PeDro Paricio
‘Diary of an Artist’ SERIES
63
other stories
‘Art is not produced in a vacuum … no artist is uninfluenced by predecessors and models.’ Ernst Kris, American psychoanalyst and art historian
the theAtre of PAinting: WorDs for PeDro Paricio Juan Manuel Bonet Juan Manuel Bonet (Paris, 1953) is a writer and art critic, director of the Cervantes Institute in Paris, and former director of both the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM) and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS)
Pedro Paricio was born exactly 30 years
(which replaced Meac) in Madrid, the Valencian
ago in la orotava (tenerife), a town with an
institute of Modern art (iVaM) in Valencia, and
eighteenth-century feel to it, thanks to its
the atlantic centre of Modern art (caaM) in
marvellous Botanical gardens. he is one of
las Palmas – this last the tri-continental dream
the most outstanding painters of the new
of Martín chirino, which would play a key role in
millennium, which began just as he reached
the modern cultural life of the canary islands.
adulthood. in the year Paricio was born, the
it would be another two decades before the
first arco international contemporary art
emergence of a rival, in the form of the tenerife
fair opened in Madrid, the ruling union of the
arts space (tea) in santa cruz.
Democratic centre spiralled into decline and felipe gonzález’s spanish socialist Workers’ Party won the general election. Meanwhile the
Between the late 1990s and the early years of
Juan March foundation presented, in triumphant
the new millennium, Paricio trained successively
succession, exhibitions of the paintings of Piet
in la laguna, salamanca and Barcelona,
Mondrian, robert and sonia Delaunay and the
reaching the last of these in 2004 and
Merz world of kurt schwitters. Within the artistic
graduating from the faculty of fine arts there
establishment, María Blanchard, salvador Dalí
two years later. initially, he was torn between
and Wifredo lam had retrospectives at the
art and architecture, and additionally he was
spanish Museum of contemporary art (Meac)
attracted at times to the idea of curating. During
one year after that institution’s major Picasso
his early years on the spanish mainland, in
retrospective, which also travelled to Barcelona
order to make ends meet, Paricio combined this
in 1982. the Pablo ruiz Picasso cultural centre
artistic deliberation with a wide variety of jobs,
in Madrid held a retrospective for Xavier Valls;
including entertaining at children’s parties as a
the Prado focused on Bartolomé Murillo and
clown. his first solo exhibition was held in 2006
still lifes by luis Meléndez; and a 25-year-old
at the espacio Joven in salamanca. four years
artist called Miquel Barceló exhibited at the
earlier, in the same city, he had witnessed the
kassel Documenta, which was about to launch
opening of the contemporary art centre Domus
him to international fame. in the cultural sphere,
artium 2002 (Da2), and in 2004 he took part
and most particularly in the visual arts, spain
in a group exhibition there entitled No lo llames
was making up for lost time. During the second
performance (Don’t Call it Performance). at
half of the 1980s, this was exemplified by the
the time, he was still finding his way, working
founding of such museums as the reina sofía
in sculpture, installation and video. soon
‘the theatre of Painting’
67
afterwards, however, he changed direction,
abstraction, his paintings of this period were
as he explained in an article: ‘At university, I
influenced by the figuration of street art (Rosen
favoured artists whom I began to reject when
cites Paricio’s description of his own style as
painting became my sole medium. Theory was
‘abstract street/Pop Art’). Also evident are
asphyxiating painting, and a strange sense of
traces of popular culture, including comics,
aggression compelled me to act in this way.’
graffiti, rap and even psychodelia. The paintings stand out because of their energy and scattered, explosive qualities, sometimes reminiscent of
It was in 2008 that Paricio, then based in
Öyvind Fahlström or Gianfranco Baruchello (two
Barcelona, first came to my notice, thanks to the
names I quoted in my preface the following year,
Valencian art dealer Basilio Muro, whose gallery
alongside those of Gerhard Richter, the Brazilian
stands virtually in the shadow of Valencia’s
Beatriz Milhazes and Spaniards Luis Gordillo and
famous Micalet belfry. Muro has always had a
Juan Uslé). Paricio’s paintings were fragmentary,
good eye for a painting. Although he normally
sometimes chaotic, invariably dynamic and
exhibits artists from the Spanish Parisian
almost always dizzying, with a dense graphic
school – like Manuel Ángeles Ortiz, Francisco
quality (there were also numerous drawings
Bores, Ismael González de la Serna, Ginés Parra,
which constituted works in their own right). They
Francisco Riba-Rovira and Jacinto Salvadó – in
were colourful too, combining constructive and
this case he skilfully identified an emerging
gestural elements. In the words of the artist back
talent and set his sights on him. I thought that
then, it was a style of painting that attempted to
the work he showed me was fantastic, and he
reconcile Clement Greenberg with Keith Haring;
had no difficulty in persuading me to write
in respect of the latter it clearly reflected the
a preface for a catalogue he published the
influence of urban art and, specifically, Jean-
following year for the solo exhibition he held
Michel Basquiat.
for Paricio. That same year, in 2009, the artist went on to have another one-man show, at the Seyhoun Gallery in Los Angeles.
Multifarious titles graced the paintings. Paricio’s series ‘The Canary Paradise’ includes works from 2007 titled Zoo, Platoon and A Confederacy of
68
Paricio’s initial phase as an artist is documented
Dunces,1 The Dharma Bums (named after a novel
in the modest first catalogue for his solo
by Jack Kerouac), El Capullo de Jerez, 2
exhibition The Canary Paradise, featuring an
The Miracle of Candeal (after the film by
article by the influential New York critic and
Fernando Trueba set in Bahía, Brazil) and Johan
publisher Miss [Sara] Rosen. Held in 2008, the
Cruyff;3 there is even a 2008 work titled Karl
exhibition by ‘Pedro Paricio a.k.a. Don Pedro’
Popper4 and another called In the Mood for
took place in a rather atypical setting: Ikara,
Love. 5 Paricio’s sensitivity to Wong Kar-wai’s
a Barcelona skateboard shop, on whose walls
distinctive use of colour does not come as a
he painted a mural. Despite their overarching
surprise. Personally, I register the presence on
Pedro Paricio
wrote an article about him in Tendencias en el mercado del arte under the title ‘Pedrito Paricio’s chromatic rap’), who uses the internet extensively (hence his ‘Digital Painting’ series) and who writes, about both his own work and that of other people.
in 2008, Paricio painted a picture called This is England. it plotted a mental journey to london that would soon be realised in reality. in this respect, 2010 was a key year in his career, for it was then that Paricio’s work came to the notice of london’s halcyon gallery. the following year this important gallery, in central london’s elite Mayfair, dedicated a solo exhibition at its Bruton street premises to Paricio under the title Master Painters. in 2012 halcyon offered the artist an exhibition at its impressive gallery the soundtrack (and in the film’s title lyrics)
in new Bond street. as one might expect, that
of Bryan ferry – a singer so evocative of my
second exhibition in a relatively short space
younger days and one of the musicians i heard
of time made an even greater impact than the
when he performed live at Madrid’s Moscardó
first, and various paintings were acquired for
football stadium in the year Paricio was born.
leading collections in Britain and internationally. it coincided with Paricio’s inclusion in the book 100 New Artists by francesca gavin, the author
subsequent paintings, made in 2008 and 2009
of one of the two prefaces to the exhibition
and grouped under the title ‘Destructures’,
catalogue (the other was by tomás Paredes).
feature references to science-fiction novels and
Paricio was not the only spaniard to feature
to The Sopranos. there are also witty names
in 100 New Artists; it also includes guillermo
like Little Motorbike, one of the most powerful
caivano, Jacobo castellano, eli cortiñas, nuria
works; Atomic Ice Cream, which carries echoes
fuster, regina de Miguel, antía Moure, catalina
of gordillo in the 1970s; and Steam Cleaner
obrador, amalia Pica and aleix Plademunt. i
(2010). these are the paintings of an intelligent
take a close interest in several of these artists,
person: a prolific reader of such authors as
particularly fuster, de Miguel and Plademunt
greenberg and a substantial amount of poetry
(the photographer of Dubailand). i really like
as well. this is someone who listens to a range
gavin’s striking yet minimalist cover (the book is
of music (indeed, in 2011 tomás Paredes
not minimalist in the least, but it does aim to be
6
7
‘the theatre of Painting’
69
striking). the whole surface is occupied
was professionally active in seville at the
by an anti-manifesto, anti ‘-ism’ statement:
time. Paricio’s latest paintings, hung on
‘Despite moments of clarity, there is no “ism”
central panels and arranged at right angles
in this book’.
to one another, will have to contend with the circular space of the building’s central gallery, its columns and its rather ornate décor. Before
three years after meeting Muro in calle
reaching this area, viewers pass a group of
corretgeria in Valencia, i find myself again
earlier works exhibited in the less flamboyant
writing about Paricio. it is on the occasion of
rectangular room that is home to a delightful
his first spanish solo show at a public exhibition
new seville institution, la casa de los Poetas
centre – a show that i am curating, which is to
(the house of Poets).
be held in one of seville’s municipal buildings, the casino de la exposición. 8 this extraordinary
70
neo-Baroque building, set around a circular
on the cover of the exhibition catalogue is
exhibition space and built, as its name suggests,
Puppet, a painting almost 2.5 metres high
for the 1929 hispano-american expo, was
and 1.5 metres wide. it is not the first work that
designed by the architect Vicente traver,
visitors come across in the gallery, but it is one of
who came from castellón de la Plana and
the most strategically placed. When i discovered
PeDro Paricio
this fantastic, compelling image, inspired by
visiting Paricio in his small but orderly studio
the distinctive visual world of Robert Longo –
home at the foot of Montjuïc Hill. There he has
a contemporary North American artist with an
a studio packed with books and, as is the norm
unfailing sense of the theatrical – it brought to
in such places, walls plastered with cuttings and
mind both the title and the content of a charming
images, much like the journalist Ramón Gómez
romantic book I had just bought in Madrid’s flea
de la Serna’s studio flat. We had long, relaxed
market: I Pupazzi (1866) by Louis Lemercier
meetings there and continued our discussions at
de Neuville, a Paris puppeteer and exponent of
a restaurant on Rambla de Cataluña. In London
Chinese shadow theatre from the mid nineteenth
I visited Halcyon’s three exhibition spaces,
century. It set me thinking about the many
spending a pleasant morning on the upper floor
puppets in modern art and culture – from Le
of the main gallery calmly contemplating some
Théâtre de Séraphin in Aloysius Bertrand’s immortal Gaspard de la nuit, to the Stridentist
of the paintings to be seen in Seville, whose titles 9
we have decided to leave in the original English.
masks and puppets of Germán Cueto and Lola
Thanks to these two trips, I was able to confirm
Álvarez Cueto and the wire circus of their friend
something that I already suspected from viewing
Alexander Calder, to the shadow plays of Le Chat
reproductions: that the adventure continues,
Noir or Els Quatre Gats. I could mention Alfred
more passionately than ever and with the best
Jarry and his collaborative work with Claude
possible results. Paricio’s splendid potential has
Terrasse’s Théâtre des Pantins, the glove puppets
become a splendid reality. Barcelona, London
of Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca,
and his native island – where he is setting up a
and the puppets that Paul Klee made for his son
studio – now form three corners of the triangular
Felix. With all this fresh in my mind, I confess that
pattern of his life.
initially, when it came to a title for the exhibition, I thought about suggesting to Paricio something to do with puppets, but in the end I decided to
In the hands of Paricio, Mount Teide, which
put forward the idea of the theatre (and, when
shielded him as he grew up, was transformed
all is said and done, puppetry is a sub-genre
in 2011 into a diamantine jewel. We are still
of theatre). The proposal was accepted almost
in the realm of the ‘acid, acrylic, luminous,
without hesitation; no doubt the artist is the
sparkling, progressively beautiful colour’ to
first to acknowledge that he is going through an
which I referred in my 2009 preface. Although
intrinsically theatrical, puppet-inspired phase.
the painting is one of his smaller works, it is
This is a period of staged contradictions and
nevertheless one of the most compelling on
assumed personae, very much along the lines of
display here. Its title is Shipwreck in Front of the
Ezra Pound’s masks.
Teide, and through this allusion to shipwreck it becomes evident that Paricio is referring to the history of painting; in fact, he is imagining
Over the past few weeks, I have travelled
the mountain à la J. M. W. Turner. Having never
successively to Barcelona and London, first
climbed to its summit, I find myself thinking
‘The Theatre of Painting’
71
Paricio’s Theatre of Painting exhibition at the Casino de la Exposición, Seville, in May 2012: ‘Magic Charms’ series and Shipwreck in Front of the Teide
on paper about a version of Mount teide after
and Mind? it is the largest work selected on this
andré Breton, the founder of surrealism. for
occasion, standing 2 metres high by 4.5 metres
Breton’s trip to tenerife, prompted by eduardo
wide. all of these paintings form part of a series
Westerdahl and Óscar Domínguez in 1935, bore
quite logically called ‘Diary of an artist’. it is a
fruit two years later in the pages of L’Amour fou
cycle that achieves a particular synthesis, and
(Mad Love). as i was completing this article, i
it includes the much-discussed 2012 painting
was delighted to discover that in 2011, Paricio
passed off under the ironic title Genius Gene –
himself combined references to surrealism
a heartfelt tribute to the painter’s father who,
and romanticism, saying in a statement to
on that remote island, set his son on the
a journalist from the tenerife newspaper
pathway to culture.
Canarias 7: ‘it is more a spiritual tribute to Óscar Domínguez and William turner than a literal one’.
While this element of homage to his native landscape is an important feature of the work on show at the exhibition, Paricio’s recent paintings are characterised more by portraits of the artist’s face, silhouette and clothing, revisited again and again, particularly during 2011. Whereas rené Magritte – a painter he enormously admires – disguised himself in paintings as an office worker or pensioner, Paricio’s clothes (black jacket, hat and tie) are more representative of the new bohemian. a title like The Big Painter suggests a superlative self-portrait, yet a hint of satire is evident, adopting the bitter irony of a modern poet, somewhat like Jules laforgue. Paricio can be
74
seen smoking a churchill-cum-canary island
Just as Barceló set out to devour the contents of
cigar in Tradition, upholding the concept,
the louvre, incorporating its grande galerie into
reclaiming tradition in the face of this century’s
his work when he fulfilled his dream of settling
predilection for ‘-isms’ (‘i’m getting old
in Paris in the early 1980s, so the hyperactive
fashioned’, he told me in his persisting canary
Paricio has devoted much of these past three
island accent, on a visit to his studio). and
years to revisiting art of the past, creating an
what can one say about the monumental and
imaginary museum for his own private use
dazzling triptych The Golden Boy: Vision, Soul
and for formulating his own interpretation of
PeDro Paricio
tradition. ‘Painters’, Paricio has written, ‘should read, watch films, travel and live, but, above all, they should study their own tradition’. he ties this in with an ernst kris10 phrase cited by the great ernst gombrich (whom i interviewed in 1992 for the newspaper ABC when he was awarded an honorary degree in Madrid): ‘art is not produced in a vacuum … no artist is uninfluenced by predecessors and models’. in Paricio’s case, we have not only a turner-style shipwreck, but also motifs taken from paintings by raphael, Diego Velázquez, Michelangelo Merisi da caravaggio, rembrandt van rijn, John constable, gustav klimt, Vincent van gogh, Pablo Picasso, amedeo Modigliani, kazimir Malevich in his final return to figuration (see Paricio’s Canarian Painter in Russian Landscape), Joan Miró, rené Magritte, grant Wood, edward hopper, lucian freud, Mark rothko, the shaman Joseph Beuys, alex katz,
andy Warhol, the metamorphic gerhard richter, John Baldessari, Martin kippenberger and, lastly, francis Bacon, for whom he feels a particular affinity. the irishman’s imagination was so over the top, sparking off such interest in spain, especially in the 1960s. first it fascinated the seville painter gordillo and then his disciples, among them carlos alcolea. it is the vision of someone obsessed with appropriating tradition, as is Paricio. thus i must inevitably refer to Bacon’s variations of Velázquez’s portrait of Pope innocent X, the jewel of rome’s Doria Pamphilj Palace. i especially like Paricio’s luminous Study after Francis Bacon IV (2009), with its dominant use of pink.
‘the theatre of Painting’
75
clearly Picasso and Miró could hardly fail to
Paricio’s review of north american painting
attract Paricio’s attention. he reinterprets a
concentrates now both on Wood and his rigid
famous image of a horse and boy from Picasso’s
American Gothic (entertainingly transformed
rose Period and a Miró painting of a staircase
into a smiling Canarian Gothic self-portrait)
and moon. nevertheless, i cannot find much in
and on the metaphysical hopper, whose work
common on the formal level between Paricio
encapsulates life in the united states like none
and these illustrious predecessors. to my
other. the latter’s image of a woman on a train
mind, the influence is more a conceptual one,
is reinterpreted by Paricio, substituting himself
inspired by Picasso’s exemplary capacity to feed
for the heroine in the splendid Study for Self-
ravenously on all the art of the past – revisiting,
portrait in High-speed Train. Paricio also revisits
for instance, Velázquez and his Meninas (Maids
the work of my much-admired friend alex katz,
of Honour), eugène Delacroix and his algerians,
whom i have always considered the hopper of
and edouard Manet and his Déjeuner sur
our time. even though Paricio reads greenberg,
l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass). in Miró he
as we have discussed, and despite his ongoing
sees the capacity to create a version of a Dutch
interest in some of the abstract painters
seventeenth-century interior from a postcard,
defended by the art critic – particularly rothko
shortly before slipping into surrealist mode to
(and how fascinating Paricio’s two versions of
declare a desire to murder painting. Moreover,
Study after Mark Rothko’s Beige, Yellow and
in both Picasso’s and Miró’s work, all this is done
Purple from 2009 are) – it is clearly the north
with a great deal of humour, which can equally
american figurative tradition that he claims as
be said of their successor. his admiration for
his own and against which he measures himself.
certain Pop artists – including members of spain’s equipo crónica,11 whom he has cited in interviews – is no coincidence.
i particularly like The Swimmer II (2011), a small but intense work inspired by katz’s delicate vision of someone swimming. this, in turn, takes us to David hockney and his famous painting A Bigger Splash and, in the spanish context, to alcolea, who is the author of an unforgettable treatise on painting called Aprender a nadar (Learning to Swim) and the person who introduced me to katz, as i have said on many occasions. Mention should also be made of an autobiographical ‘remake’ of gerhard richter’s female nude descending a staircase, transformed into Pedro (Naked at Stairs). a nude descending a staircase unmistakably evokes Marcel Duchamp, who clearly does not
76
PeDro Paricio
We should continue to watch the work of this artist closely. now 30 years old, he has matured in leaps and bounds and, far from being bewildered by success or letting it go to his head, he seems as straightforward and normal as ever, motivated at all times by an Infinite Faith, to borrow the optimistic title of his 2009 solo exhibition at the fidel Balaguer gallery in Barcelona. one of the pieces that stood out at the exhibition was The Fishing Day, a diptych of an igloo and eskimos. rather than the usual catalogue, there was a dense volume of some 50 pages (without illustrations of the artist’s or anyone else’s work) featuring Paricio’s articles Textos I y II inconclusos (Unfinished Articles I and II). the title of the first is ‘Painting as a Problem’, and it begins figure in Paricio’s private pantheon, as we know
‘Painting consists of solving problems, although
from his writings. he is critical not only of the
what kind of problems i cannot exactly say’.
french Dadaist, but also of andy Warhol, allan
the publication is well worth re-reading today,
kaprow and Joseph kosuth, and of current
and it can be downloaded in PDf format from
derivative neo-conceptualists – in fact, of
Paricio’s website. i also recommend an excellent
everything that is idolised in fine arts faculties throughout the world, not least in spain.
the most recent work in the current exhibition is a dazzling 2012 polyptych, Magic Charms. it is a type of tribute to the artist’s everyday setting in the form of ten objects, each portrayed on a brilliant 30 by 30 centimetre canvas: a bottle of wine, a tin of acrylic paint, a paint brush, a knife, a handkerchief, a hat, a shoe, a tie, a feather and a cigar. the polyptych hints at new potential pathways, moving away from Paricio’s imaginary museum. he is obviously not the kind of creator who sticks only with what he has done or rests on his laurels.
‘the theatre of Painting’
77
interview with Paricio by Javier reguera from
a magnificent account of the deterioration of
his blog ‘así se fundó carnaby street’ (after
high culture in the second half of the twentieth
the book by leopoldo María Panero); i often
century due to its excesses and vulgarisation’,
consult the blog because reguera explores
and ‘Painting is not thought but painted’. indeed,
various episodes – major and minor – from
enough of words.
12
the past three or four decades of spanish life. it was from Unfinished Articles I and II that i
78
lifted the quotation in which Paricio reflects on
‘i have infinite faith in painting’, Paricio
his breakaway from neo-conceptualism, and
declared in 2011 to a journalist from La Opinión
also the phrase about tradition where we saw
de Tenerife, hammering home the title of his
Paricio supporting his case with the aid of kris
Barcelona exhibition. it is the faith evoked by
and gombrich (the latter a fellow countryman
Juan gris in his 1924 sorbonne lecture, ‘the
of gustav klimt, one of the painters whose work
Possibilities of Painting’; faith in The Magic
Paricio has successfully reinterpreted). he is a
of Painting, explicitly proclaimed in Paricio’s
lucid critic of the way that words and theory
beautiful 2011 diptych, a work that genuinely
take precedence over the practice of art. how
suggests sleight-of-hand, in a style akin to that
beautifully he expresses the following: ‘the
of Joan Brossa. i would have liked to include it
inclusion of low culture in art does not mean
in this exhibition but, in the end, i couldn’t. this
that we have to transform art into low culture:
is an expansive, contagious faith, explained by
kitsch, entertainment and spectacle’. similarly,
the 30-year-old – already ‘senior’ compared to
he observes in a note: ‘clement greenberg gives
others in his profession – to a journalist from
PeDro Paricio
La Vanguardia in 2011: ‘I always ask artists who
Let us now move on to Paricio’s Theatre of
are starting out, “How far does your faith go?”
Painting in Seville, in the special and highly
If you don’t take that into consideration, you
theatrical setting of the 1929 World’s Fair.
won’t get anywhere.’
Text adapted and edited from the exhibition catalogue that accompanied The Theatre of Painting (2012), Casino de la Exposición, Seville.
1 Referring to the novel by John Kennedy Toole. [All notes are editorial.] 2 The stage name of flamenco singer Miguel Flores Quirós. 3 A retired Dutch footballer. 4 Karl Popper was one of the most celebrated scientific philosophers of the twentieth century. 5 Referring to a film from the year 2000 directed by Wong Kar-wai. 6 Luis Gordillo (b. 1934) is a Spanish artist known for his experimentation; during the 1970s his
paintings were colourful and ironic.
7
President of the Madrid Association of Art Critics.
8 This article was written for the exhibition catalogue that accompanied The Theatre of Painting (2012). 9 The avant-garde movement Stridentism, which arose in 1921 in the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution,
used the arts and literature to celebrate modernity while taking an openly political approach to social issues.
10 Ernst Kris (1900–1957) was an American psychoanalyst and art historian. 11 A collective of six artists, the ‘Chronic Team’ (1964–1981) used the medium of Pop Art to express social
concerns, criticise politics and question art history.
12 ‘How Carnaby Street was Founded’.
‘The Theatre of Painting’
79
‘Paricio’s splendid potential has become a splendid reality.’ Juan Manuel Bonet, Spanish writer and art critic
‘MAgiC ChArMs’ series 2012
Magic Charm Acrylic Pot (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
84
PeDro Paricio
Magic Charm Brush (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
‘Magic charMs’ series
85
Magic Charm Cigar (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
86
PeDro Paricio
Magic Charm Hat (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
‘Magic charMs’ series
87
Magic Charm Palette Knife (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
88
PeDro Paricio
Magic Charm Pen (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
‘Magic charMs’ series
89
Magic Charm Pocket Square (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
90
PeDro Paricio
Magic Charm Shoe (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
‘Magic charMs’ series
91
Magic Charm Tie (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
92
PeDro Paricio
Magic Charm Wine Bottle (2012) Acrylic on linen 30 x 30 cm
‘Magic charMs’ series
93
‘DiAlogues’ series 2010
Every man is an artist (2010) Acrylic on canvas Triptych: top painting 36.5 x 134 cm; each lower painting 99.8 x 84 cm
96
PeDro Paricio
I always say the same thing, hoping to say something different (2010) Acrylic on canvas and electrical wire on wall Triptych: total size 200 x 280 cm; each painting 68 x 105.5 cm
‘Dialogues’ series
97
I am making art (2010) Acrylic on canvas Triptych: each painting 105.5 x 70.5 cm
98
PeDro Paricio
‘DIALOGUES’ SERIES
99
I have no alibi, as much as a beer (2010) Acrylic on canvas and pencil on paper Diptych: painting 52.5 x 44.5 cm; drawing 42 x 35 cm
100
PeDro Paricio
I want to feel something; I just want to feel (2010) Acrylic on canvas 85 x 141.5 cm
‘Dialogues’ series
101
‘size Me’ series 2010
Circus Tent Illuminated by Spotlights (Foot) (2010) Acrylic on canvas Diptych: each painting 29.5 x 29 cm
104
PeDro Paricio
‘SIZE ME’ SERIES
105
Crushing Machine’s Paint (Wingspan) (2010) Acrylic on canvas 183 x 183 cm
106
PeDro Paricio
Rubik Twister (Head) (2010) Acrylic on canvas 58 x 58.5 cm
‘size Me’ series
107
‘looKs liKe’ series 2009–2010
Grey Rhinoceros with Digital Landscape (2010) Acrylic on canvas 81 x 100 cm
110
PeDro Paricio
‘LOOKS LIKE’ SERIES
111
Prospecting (2009) Acrylic on canvas 80 x 80 cm
112
PeDro Paricio
Religious Painting (2009) Acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm
‘looks like’ series
113
Steam Cleaner (2009) Acrylic on canvas 100 x 90 cm
114
PeDro Paricio
‘LOOKS LIKE’ SERIES
115
Two Views on the Legend of Time (2009) Acrylic on canvas Diptych: each painting 99.5 x 80 cm
116
PeDro Paricio
‘LOOKS LIKE’ SERIES
117
Unlucky Gold and Silver (2009) Acrylic on canvas 65 x 75 cm
118
PeDro Paricio
Urban Development (2009) Acrylic on canvas 77 x 41 cm
‘looks like’ series
119
What if I had been born in 1910? (2009) Acrylic on canvas 80 x 80 cm
120
PeDro Paricio
Yubarta in an Amusement Park (2009) Acrylic on canvas 70 x 60 cm
‘looks like’ series
121
‘After frAnCis BACon’ series 2009
Self-portrait with Television (2009) Acrylic on canvas Diptych: each painting 99.5 x 80 cm
124
PeDro Paricio
‘After Francis Bacon’ Series
125
Study after Francis Bacon III (2009) Acrylic on canvas 75 x 65 cm
126
PeDro Paricio
Three Studies for a Self-portrait (2009) Acrylic on canvas Triptych: each painting 99.5 x 80 cm
128
PeDro Paricio
‘After Francis Bacon’ Series
129
‘DigitAl PAinting’ series 2009
Architectural Study (2009) Acrylic on canvas 49.5 x 49.5 cm
132
PeDro Paricio
‘Digital Painting’ Series
133
Demolition III (2009) Acrylic on canvas 77.5 x 40 cm
134
PeDro Paricio
Study for a Birth (2009) Acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm
‘Digital Painting’ series
135
Study for a Portrait of Bad Luck (2009) Acrylic on canvas 50 x 50 cm
136
PeDro Paricio
Study for a Stain on Red Carpet (2009) Acrylic on canvas 100 x 73 cm
‘Digital Painting’ series
137
‘DestruCtures’ series 2008–2010
Portrait of Antonio Anselmi, 1150 (2010) Acrylic on canvas 100 x 73 cm
140
PeDro Paricio
‘Destructures’ Series
141
Dune (2009) Acrylic on canvas 80 x 80 cm
142
PeDro Paricio
Black Lodge (2008) Acrylic on canvas 80 x 80 cm
‘Destructures’ series
143
Little Motorbike (2008) Acrylic on canvas 81.5 x 100 cm
144
PeDro Paricio
‘the CAnAry PArADise’ series 2007–2008
In the Mood for Love (2008) Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 148 x 148 cm
148
PeDro Paricio
Into the Wild (2008) Acrylic on canvas 195 x 130 cm
150
PeDro Paricio
Under the Stars (2008) Acrylic on canvas 195 x 130 cm
‘the canary ParaDise’ series
151
A Confederacy of Dunces (2007) Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 130 x 100 cm
152
PeDro Paricio
Johan Cruyff (2007) Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 59.5 x 50 cm
‘the canary ParaDise’ series
153
Pedro Paricio at The Theatre of Painting exhibition, casino de la exposici贸n, seville, May 2012
PeDro PAriCio sPanish, b. 1982
fascination with vivid colour and a love of paint
Barcelona, Don’t Call it Performance (2004), but
itself are hallmarks of the contemporary spanish
shortly afterwards decided to make painting his
artist Pedro Paricio. in bright and dynamic
sole medium; he considers the latent possibilities
canvases he sets out to solve conceptual
of painting to be infinite and dismisses the idea
problems, to incorporate street culture into fine
of using other media or technology in response
art, to pay homage to great artistic figures of
to fleeting fads in art.
the past and to examine and question the role of the artist. his subjects range from contemporary science to hispanic folklore and from music
Paricio’s first one-man exhibition was held
to philosophy.
in 2006 at the espacio Joven in salamanca. supporting himself as an artist by taking a range of jobs, including art editing, curating,
Paricio was born on 16 January 1982 on tenerife
assisting photographers, clowning at children’s
in the canary islands. as a child, he was always
parties and game-keeping, he started work in
drawing, but at high school he studied science
2007 on a series of paintings titled ‘the canary
and only began to contemplate a future in the
Paradise’. he described his approach as ‘abstract
arts a few months before going to college. ‘to
street/Pop art’, providing ‘freedom from the
be honest, the thing that attracted me was
structure of the mind and the computerized
the freedom that society gives to the artist’,
world’. 2 in the cycle he integrates clement
he explains. ‘i chose art because i wanted a
greenberg’s theories of Modernism with urban
different life.’ yet, with the benefit of hindsight,
art, appropriating diverse cultural references; for
he now feels that the chain of events that led
instance, to Jack kerouac’s novel The Dharma
him into art was a process of discovering his
Bums (1958), to Dutch and spanish football
fate, his destiny.
stars, and to films, including The Miracle of
1
Candeal (2004). appropriately, the series was exhibited at ikara, a Barcelona skateboard shop, Paricio enrolled at the faculty of fine arts of the
in 2008, the year he started painting full time.
university of la laguna, tenerife, moving on to a course in salamanca and completing his training with a degree in fine arts at the university of
Paricio’s series begun in 2008 – small mixed
Barcelona (2004–2006). While at college, he
media drawings under the title of ‘films’ and
considered a career as an art critic-cum-curator;
acrylic on canvas ‘Destructures’ – continued his
such essays as Unfinished Articles I and II convey
abstract reflections on the cultural environment
a lucid intelligence that enables him to reflect,
of that decade, from The Sopranos on television
for example, on the tyrannical relationship
to Large Hadron Collider at the forefront of
between artistic theory and practice. Paricio was
scientific discovery. in two series from 2009,
focusing mostly on sculpture, installation and
‘Digital Painting’ and ‘after francis Bacon’,
video art at the time of his first group show in
Paricio used an unusual mix of hard-lined, flat
artist BiograPhy
155
geometric and amorphous shapes in primary
fetishises his painter’s tools and other attributes
and jewel colours alongside swathes of thick,
against a particularly bright version of the
spattered paint on canvases that were gradually
harlequin geometry.
edging towards the figurative. Works on paper made in 2010 include a sequence of traditional ritual masks from the Canary Islands which
Paricio currently divides his time between
clearly depart from his abstract renderings of
Barcelona, Tenerife and London. His paintings
‘Sideshow Characters’.
are held in many private collections around the world, and he enjoys an international reputation following exhibitions throughout Europe and
Since the series ‘Dialogues’ (2010), Paricio has
the United States. The Master Painters show
been self-reflexive, meditating in paint on himself
at Halcyon Gallery, London, in 2011 made a
as artist and paying tribute to his predecessors.
big impact on the international art scene, and
The 18 works in ‘Master Painters’ (2011) give
in 2012 The Theatre of Painting, his first solo
personal re-readings of famous paintings,
museum exhibition in Spain, was staged at the
sometimes subtly, but generally with wit or irony:
Institute of Culture and Arts of Seville. Paricio
thus Canarian Gothic references Grant Wood’s
was honoured to be selected for inclusion in
American Gothic; Flowers for a Martyr reworks
Francesca Gavin’s book 100 New Artists (2011),
Vincent van Gogh’s iconic sunflowers; and Pedro
representing an innovative generation that is
(Naked at Stairs) harks back both to Gerhard
forming the aesthetics of the coming decade.
Richter’s Ema (Nude on a Staircase) of 1966 and beyond it to Marcel Duchamp’s fragmented Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) of 1912.
Paricio has an all-embracing view of painting
Borrowing and adapting imagery from the past,
which crosses the boundaries between abstract
Paricio fuses it with his own visual language of
and figurative, object and narrative. ‘It is as
blanked-out faces, Stetson hats and harlequin
if you saw a play in one second’, he says. 3
colours, introducing layers of meaning and
‘Postmodernity allows us to understand that
playing with the identity of subject and artist.
there isn’t one style that is better than another
He persists with the theme in ‘Diary of
... and in the end what we realise ... is that
an Artist’ (2011–2012) and again, on a more
everything is available to us.’4
intimate scale, in ‘Magic Charms’ (2012), which
1
Pedro Paricio interview, http://www.openzine.com/aspx/Zine.aspx?IssueID=11283.
2
Quoted in Miss Rosen, ‘Pedro Paricio: From the Canary Islands to Melrose Avenue’, 14 October 2009.
3 Nieves G. Grosso, Interview with Pedro Paricio, El Correo de Andalucía, 26 May 2012. 4
156
Pedro Paricio, The Theatre of Painting, Miradas 2, 2 June 2012, © RTVE 2012.
Pedro Paricio
first published in great Britain in 2012 by
halcyon gallery 24 Bruton street Mayfair london W1J 6QQ t +44 (0)20 7659 7640
info@halcyongallery.com www.halcyongallery.com
copyright © 2012 halcyon gallery
reproduced works copyright © 2007–2012 Pedro Paricio ‘the theatre of Painting: Words for Pedro Paricio’ © Juan Manuel Bonet ‘the art of appropriation’ © Philip Wright
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Publisher: carlotta cooper editor: ursula Payne Designer: alfie hunter
exhibition curators: kate anderson, simón Quintero
Photographic credits: 8 © giraudon/Bridgeman art library; 9 © Peter Willi/Bridgeman art library; 10 © r. hamilton, all rights reserved, Dacs 2012; 68, 77 Pedro Paricio; 70, 72–73, 74 halcyon gallery; 75 left © alinari/Bridgeman art library; 75 right © the estate of francis Bacon, all rights reserved, Dacs 2012; 76 © album/oronoz/akg-images, © Dacs 2012; 77 left © geoffrey clements/corBis; 78 courtesy of the fidel Balaguer collection
Printed in great Britain by ripping image
isBn: 978-1-907849-11-4