LONDON.- Building on the success of Paricios previous exhibitions, (Master Painters, 2011, and Diary of an Artist, 2012) the Canarian artist now showcases a new body of work entitled Shaman, comprising of twenty five original paintings.
Tipped by international critics and curators as a rising star, Paricio is enjoying a serious reputation in the art world, following exhibitions held throughout Europe and the United States.
Having left behind his beloved Tenerife to take up residency in London just over a year ago, Paricio has embarked on a new, painterly quest. Departing from his paradigm of weaving Art Historical narratives throughout his work, the Shaman series aims to identify, and reflect on, an entirely new set of spiritual symbols and icons which he has developed throughout the year.
Mixing the old with the new, Paricio continues to feature in his own composition, yet shifts from a focus of individuality and self, to exploring in depth the tangible and sensory connection of the human body to the spiritual world. Still highly influential in many cultures today, shamanistic practices involve elements of healing, divinity, prediction and even magic the role of the communitys Shaman is to engage his people in all aspects, human and divine, of their own culture.
The artist now asks the viewer to allow themselves to be taken on a journey through his art to reach a heightened state of euphoria simply by allowing a temporary release from social confines. Paricio highlights the physicality of humanism and mortality versus the mysticism of other-worldly realms, by making subtle references to the degenerative, yet simultaneously everlasting (through the advances of 21st century technology), society in which we all live.
Within Shaman, the subject of the painting and the physical mediums of the paint and canvas become transcendental. A shamamic totem, mythological portraits of Atlas and Sisifo these iconic symbols which for centuries have been brought down to Earth to help the human race identify with the heavenly realm, are now elevated once again and we are asked to join them. Paricios paintings are held in many private collections internationally and luminaries in the art world have endorsed his talent, including Francesca Gavin, whose book 100 New Artists (2011) features Paricio representing an innovative generation that is forming the aesthetics of the coming decade. Museum curator and art critic, Juan Manuel Bonet says, Paricio is the freshest artist I have seen in the contemporary Spanish art scene in 30 years.
An exhibition of Paricios work will be held at the Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA) in October 2014 and will run until March 2015.