As a child growing up in New York City Parris was exposed to various cultural identity’s melding together through art, music and lifestyle. The scene in the 80s and all around NYC was saturated with invention through creativity adding to the allure and the identity of the artist.
In his late teens Parris began working at Marvel Comics as a photo tech, while gaining character drawing skills and comic story writing experience. It was a great time, Parris would work and hangout with some of the pioneers of comic art and story at that time.
In the late 90s Parris started a hand-made jewelry company named “Blufork’s NYC”. Catering to such clients as Barney’s Co-op, Anna Sui and Patricia Fields. Parris says, “Creating hand made jewelry from wood, semi precious stones, copper and silver colored with metallic paints and pigments. Truly brings me back to my earliest understanding of how to create Art from materials found on the earth.”
At the same time and as a source of gaining exposure and selling his canvases, Parris began selling his works on the streets of Soho and the East Village. He befriended and collaborated with some of the most talented painters, artists and musicians of the underground scene at the time.
Parris found a venue to create and share his ideas of art, being a part of the art world independently and gaining a name among the underground.
Parris now concentrates on remaining active at the art fairs in NY, Miami and gallery exhibitions at home and abroad. In the last few years Parris has had the pleasure of collaborating on art projects in East Africa, India and Europe, while living and working in Brooklyn NY.
Etchings on Canvas Series
With this series of works I call “Etchings on Canvas” I wanted to explore the idea of using numerical and astrological symbols mixed with the poetry and catch phrases I’ve created.
BLACKENED dwells deep into the idea of compliance, mathematically counted and numbered, added and subtracted through life till death.
With INVISIBLE I explore the science of living of the grid, or as the artist lives underground. Free to question existence through creativity, the rights and wrongs of politics and the multitude of unanswered questions from society interpreted through the many mediums of the artist.
APPROPRIATE MEASURES touches on the topic of racial separation/segregation, not as a people but through the media and the many devices of fear used. Devices used to Blackout the senses.
The natural pigments used to build the texture before etching, are taken from plants and flowers, mixed with a Babul tree resin and acrylic to add longevity to the artworks.
Parris Jaru
59 Hart st Brooklyn NY 11206
646 469 9269
AUCTIONS:
-The Giving Back Foundation Auction, NYC 2014
-The Drama League of America Auction, NYC 2012
-The Drama League of America Auction, NYC 2011
ART FAIRS:
-Art Expo, Pier 39, Chelsea 2015
-The Contemporary Art Fair, Chelsea 2014
-The Fountain Art Fair, NYC 2014
-The Contemporary Art Fair, Jacob Javits Center, NYC 2011
EXHIBITIONS:
-Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn NY 2015
-Clover Gallery, Brooklyn NY 2015
-Saint Josephs College, Brooklyn NY 2015
-Under Minerva Gallery, Park Slope, Brooklyn 2014
-The Next Gallery, Soho NYC 2013
-Empire Hotel, NYC 2013
-Miwa-Alex Gallery, East Chelsea NYC 2012
-Andrea Zarr Gallery, Chelsea NYC 2012
-Midoma Art & Boutique, NYC 2010
-Chelsea Art Museum, Chelsea NYC 2009
-The Painting Center, Soho NYC 2009
-Essential Art Show, Chelsea NYC 2009
-Rush Arts Chelsea, Chelsea NYC 2009
-Jajo Gallery, New Jersey 2009
-The Black Ink Gallery, Harlem NY 2008
-Soho Framing Gallery, Soho NYC 2007
-Village Arts Gallery, East Village NYC 2007
COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS:
-Traveled to the North and South of India to collaborate on a film project: “A Trail of Pigment” 2014.
-Curated a GAP Art Collective group exhibition, Pune India 2014.
-Traveled to East Africa to collaborate on a film project “Imagination is Creation” 2012-2013.
-Nafsi Art Collective Niarobi, Kenya 2013
-One Love Community Art Center Awasa, Ethiopia 2013
-UAACC Community Art Center Arusha, Tanzania 2012
-Brooklyn to Marseille Art Collective Marseille, France 2013
-Street Arts of Paris, France 2013
