THE NEW GRAND TOUR
June 3 - July 17, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday June 3, 6-8pm
NEW YORK, NY, APRIL 30, 2010- BRYCE WOLKOWITZ GALLERY announces the opening of The New Grand Tour. The original concept of the grand tour was born in the late sixteenth century when it became fashionable for young aristocrats to visit the great cities of Europe such as Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome, as the culmination of their classical education. As rail and steamship travel became more accessible, the practice flourished and served as an educational rite of passage for Englishmen, Germans, French and Americans alike.
The goal of The New Grand Tour is to revive, re-invent, redefine, and change the old concept by venturing well beyond a voyage for the privileged elite. Instead, The New Grand Tour would become a mechanism for a group of unique and talented artists to interact with foreign cultures in an appreciative and organic way, rather than simply as voyeurs.
Beginning on October 20, 2007, Young Kim was joined by Deanne Cheuk, José Parlá, Rey Parlá, Rostarr and Davi Russo for thirteen days of travel in the Far East. They began in Shanghai heading for the remote Yunnan Province, in search of the mystical city of Shangri la. With James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon as their guide, their journey took them through the beautiful valleys, rivers and lakes between the border of Yunnan Province and Tibet, through the Mei Li Snow Mountains and eventually to Beijing. While on this journey, each artist created new works within their respective medium, inspired by the places they visited during their travels.
This wide-ranging body of work, now showcased in The New Grand Tour exhibition, brings together a diverse group of voices united through their individual and collective experiences on this tour, which reflects both the visual and sensory inspiration they encountered in the many destinations of this shared travelogue.
From Suitman’s humorous snapshot portraits of Tsitang school children to José Parlá’s densely layered paintings the works in this exhibition show how materiality and subject intertwine to make an image of their journey. Deanne Cheuk’s meticulous drawings and colorful watercolors inspired by the Shangri La landscape take us there.
While the free form calligraphy in Rostarr’s graphic paintings and filmmaker Rey Parlá’s exploration of narrative storytelling through his unique process of distressing and treating celluloid negatives reflect the visual and written, much like the Chinese character as word. Photographer Davi Russo’s snapshots of the sights and sounds he encountered on the journey give a raw and immediate sense to the overall experience.
For more information please contact Amanda Wilkes at amanda@brycewolkowitz.com or (212) 243-8830.
505 W24th Street, New York, NY 10011
t 212 234 8300 f 212 243 8620
info@brycewolkowitz.com
www.brycewolkowitz.com
Link:
http://www.brycewolkowitz.com/
Rey Parla is an American artist, photographer, and filmmaker, living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Rey Parla earned a B.A. in English Literature and a Certificate in Film Studies from Florida International University (FIU) and attended Miami Dade Community College.
From 1993 to 1998 Rey completed Independent Film Studies at The Alliance Film/Video Cooperative founded by filmmakers Mark Boswell and William Keddell. Rey's internship was realized at the Miami International Film Festival while studying with film directors Doris Wishman, Sergio Giral (Cuba), Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez, and photographers Joseph Tamargo, William Maguire, and musician Alfredo Triff.
In 1994 the newsletter for The Alliance for Media Arts in Miami Beach commented: "Rey Parla is one of the best experimental scratch filmmakers in the country." Rey's Super 8mm film, Sporadic Germination, was selected by Bruce Posner of Harvard Film Archives for his curated program at The 12th Annual Miami International Film Festival: The Avant-Garde Returns - with fellow filmmakers: Stan Brakhage (USA), Jose Antonio Sistiaga (Spain), Charles Recher (USA), Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts (USA), William Keddell (New Zealand), and Rey Parla (Miami, FL).
Rey created two follow up films with screenings at the Dorsch Gallery: The Revolution of Super 8 Universe: A Self-Portrait and Rumba Abstracta where Rey directed a special musical presentation by Ivan Moreno's conga drum band at The Cuban Alternative Film Festival in Little Habana.
Rey's Super 8mm and 35mm scratch films, narrative shorts, and documentaries have screened to honorable mentions on TV, the internet, and festivals like: The Anti Film Festival, The Alliance Cinema, Milan International Film Festival, Flower Film Festival, The Central Florida Film & Video Festival, The Independent Feature Project, El Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte Roma (MUCA Roma), and The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives screenings.
From 2007 to 2010, Rey co-produced and was one of the co-directors for the travelogue; The New Grand Tour, a project also exhibited in Hong Kong (2007), Beijing (2008), and at Bryce Wolkowitz’s Gallery in New York City (2010) which produced two exhibition monographs where Rey presented his poetry and manifesto in collaboration with artists: Suitman (aka Young Kim), brother José Parlá, Rostarr, Deanne Cheuk and Davi Russo.
Early in 2011 curator Helen Homan Wu of Opalnest Independent Projects presented SONIC ARCHITEXTURES, an experiential art event with a new film by Rey Parla entitled: Emulsions, Glitches, and Scratches in a live sound and image performance with MERCE (Maria Chavez and Shelley Burgon).
Rey has collaborated with performer Natasha Tsakos in Miami Beach, Vanessa Gocksch of Intermundos and Ralph Falcón of MURK RECORDS. Critical theorist, filmmaker, and collaborator; Michael Betancourt, has written about Rey’s work.
