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Preview: Parra’s “Same Old Song” at HVW8

On June 28 graphic artist, designer and musician, Piet Parra will be opening a solo show at HVW8 in LA. Titled "Same Old Song," the exhibit shows new snapshots from his red, blue and pink world filled with curvaceous, naked women engaging in debauchery.

On June 28 graphic artist, designer and musician, Piet Parra (featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 24) will be opening a solo show at HVW8 in LA. Titled “Same Old Song,” the exhibit shows new snapshots from his red, blue and pink world filled with curvaceous, naked women engaging in debauchery.

The Amsterdam-based artist is known for his flat, minimalist style, clean lines and the use of highly saturated colors. His intentional limitation with colors and graphic elements allows him to produce witty, poignant images with easy-to-read stories within them. The imagery he uses consists of signature silhouette characters and simple patterns such as lines or raster dots as a nod to or parody of the familiar Pop Art element. The works that he describes as fast and freestyle are the visualizations of a dirty punchline expressed through an almost universal, straightforward visual language.

For his fifth show with the gallery, Parra painted around 20 new works, including large canvases, and smaller works on paper. Showing overturned wine glasses, leisure-suited perverts and behind- the-bar booty slaps, the pieces continue his ongoing interest in the profane — going from harmlessly witty to, at times, uncomfortably politically incorrect. Focused on partying and vices, the paintings in this show poke fun at the extravagance of the Hollywood lifestyle.

Parra’s “Same Old Song” will be on view at HVW8 June 28 through August 10.

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