Mike Parillo – Timeless and Ephemeral Art
If there is something I’m passionate about it, it’s art. I love all sorts of art. I can walk around a museum for hours talking about context and composition, sociological theory and historical accounts to anyone interested or willing to listen.
I studied studio arts in college because I felt it gave me “dimension”. It wasn’t until I studied modern art that I became totally engrossed in art in general. I guess it had to do with a super long paper I wrote about the concept of the gallery space that finally knocked the last nail in the proverbial coffin that buried me in an underworld of contemporary art.
I’ve tried to get Franck into art, but he was a tough sell. It wasn’t until we saw a snowboarding documentary (his idea) that we discovered a featured artist named Mike Parillo that Franck’s interests in art were piqued. Mix of snowboarding and art? Who can beat that?
After the film, I followed his work and read a lot about him. Parillo’s work automatically gave me James Rosenquist vibes, but with a darker Salvador Dali edge. While I love Rosenquist’s work on a visual level, I don’t feel anything and to me, that’s what is important about art: It should take you to a place of emotion, or a place in time where you felt something very strongly perhaps about your condition or surroundings.
Of all contemporary artists, Mike Parillo’s work gives me chills. It makes me want to cry and laugh in a state of wonder. His work makes social statements about pop culture, but doesn’t leave the commentary on the surface. Rather, he incorporates what is compared to Dali’s introspection; It’s dark and curious, but not altogether frightening. It makes a viewer want to jump into this timeless, yet ephemeral world inside an unknown universe or even dream state, that is so familiar to us modern, and technology driven people.
Parillo’s work is famously known for being featured on LibTech snowboards. His subject matter is so deeply rooted in the snowboard culture that much of it is subject in his work. Being a sport tightly knit in nature, scenes of winter, mountains, animals, and the night sky are embedded without second thought. Don’t let the love of nature fool you, there are urban elements throughout that ooze with a sensual sexuality.
Some have said that he’s as lovable as a giant teddy bear. A friend of mine has one of his pieces and I’m ultimately jealous. I’ve even asked Mike to do a piece for me, but his career is exploding at light speed, it seems that the artist can barely catch up with all the commission demands; and for good reason. The composition, the texture, and the subject matter create a visual and emotional experience that has been long missing in the contemporary art scene.
Mike Parillo doesn’t shock like the modern and contemporary artists of days past. There’s no need to do that for a society conditioned to accept shocking imagery. What Parillo’s work does is begin a gentle dialogue of introspection, whether it be with your neighbor or within yourself. The questions reflect existence, relationships with between man and technology and nature, friendships and family, questions that we ask ourselves daily, but without much awareness as we’re trying to make ends meet.
Mike Parillo just launched a new website: MikeParillo.com featuring his fine art. He also has the Asymbol Gallery that sells prints of his work along with other artists in the action sports industry. For the past year, he’s been on an endless exhibition in Japan, California; globe trotting like a successful artist should. I just hope he gets a long enough break to produce more work to take along appreciators like me on what I dare to say a spiritual journey.
[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://liveloveleslie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/L.J.Acker-2012-About.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]L.J. Acker is an American life and career coach based in Annecy, France. She offers free consultations and affordable international coaching by phone and Skype. [/author_info] [/author]
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