Santiago Parra

Biography

Santiago Parra (b. 1986, Bogotá, Colombia) studied Literature at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, followed by an art education at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. Later at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, he studied Fine Arts as well as Motion Pictures and Television.

Parra is known for his large, abstract, and highly expressive black and white paintings. His canvases capture the suspended flatness of the calligraphy-like imagery, harmonizing two seemingly incompatible aesthetic moments: spontaneity and pondering. Both are shaped by movement, strength, gravity, and the skill of the Colombian artist’s creative process. He explores the expressive possibilities of the quintessential abstract form. With an audacious manner, he redefines abstract structures with bold sculptural brushstrokes. His work is both an aesthetic exploration and a questioning of the essence of abstract image-making.

He has exhibited in multiple exhibitions both in the UK and internationally in places such as New York, St, Moritz, Mexico City, Vienna and Bogotá. Santiago Parra’s work has also entered prominent collections both private and institutional, which include, the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, USA, the koç Art Collection, Istanbul, Turkey and the Jean et Colette Cherqui Collection, France.

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