The retrospective at the Palais de Tokyo gathers about one hundred works from paintings to paper works.

Neither nostalgic nor cynical, his “misshapen” and gutted monochrome paintings, performance-based films, photo-collages and works on paper made with such loaded materials as engine enamel, blood and glitter, owe more to Stella’s Black Paintings’ “what you see is what you see” credo than to any post-pop tradition of cultural intervention. And just not any of Frank Stella’s Black Paintings, but specifically: Arbeit macht frei (1958) and Die Fahne Hoch (1959). As far as Parrino was concerned, these works were not called “black” for nothing.

To Stella’a black one must also add the silver of Warhol’s disaster paintings (1963). Just as in his “figurative” drawings using motifs appropriated from biker, no-wave, punk rock, and comic book culture, Parrino’s “misshapen” canvasses – monochrome paintings wrenched from their stretchers before being stretched back, distorted, in a supremely frozen gesture–, suggest, in Robert Nickas’ words, “the crumpled body of a car after an accident (…) a clear sign of violence being served cold.”

The retrospective at the Palais de Tokyo gathers about one hundred works shown in three distinct spaces. First, a selection of early painting and works on paper brings to the fore Parrino’s fascination with the “dumb” and glamorous surface of America’s counterculture. The central part of the retrospective takes its cue from the large painting exhibitions that Parrino staged throughout his career. Finally, a selection of recent works highlights Parrino’s dialogue with the figure of Smithson.

Practical information:

Palais de Tokyo
13 avenue du Président Wilson
75116 Paris
Tel : 01.47.23.54.01

Metro station: Iéna / Trocadéro

Rates : from 3 euros to 6 euros

Opening: from 12ham to midnight!

For further information, you can visit the following website: Palais de Tokyo.