ART FOR CHANGE is pleased to partner with artists José Parlá and Vaughn Spann on two new, limited-edition prints benefiting the Brooklyn Museum on the occasion of the 2024 Brooklyn Artists Ball. This partnership marks the fourth ART FOR CHANGE series benefiting the Museum, with the first series released in 2020.
ART FOR CHANGE will donate $500 from each print sold towards the Museum, to help bolster the annual gala’s aim of raising critical funding to help the institution fulfill its mission to be a home for inspiring art and courageous conversations. In keeping with all of our releases, both artists will receive 50% of the net proceeds from each sale.
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José Parlá
La Habana Sunset, 2024
Archival pigment print on Somerset mounted on DIBOND
22.75 x 40 inches
Framed in white wood
La Habana Sunset features a landscape wherein a textured, gestural sky is interwoven with a unique code of writing that reveals a new horizon line. Created as part of a new series of large-scale paintings titled Ciclos: Blooms of Mold, the work visually recalls underground mycelium formations. These complex and mysterious fungi communication networks interconnect everything on Earth through a web of life. As symbolic as it is abstract, the composition is inspired equally by Parlá's youth as a Cuban American in Miami during the 1980s, his world travels, his almost fatal battle with COVID-19 in 2021—during which he entered a three-month-long coma, and experienced dreams that were later translated into vivid depictions that evoke natural landscapes—and his survival.
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José Parlá is a critically acclaimed artist who first started painting walls within Miami's underground art scene during the 1980s. A fusion of influences that include calligraphy, memory recall, psycho-geography, and Abstract Expressionism, his multimedia practice reflects the complexity of the cityscapes in which he finds himself. Born in Miami, FL, and based in Brooklyn, NY, Parlá's work has been exhibited at esteemed venues around the world and can be found in the public collections of the Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, FL; and The British Museum, London, United Kingdom; among others. Additionally, the artist has completed permanent public art commissions at sites that include New York City's One World Trade Center, Barclays Center, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as Toronto's Concord City Place and London's Chiltern Firehouse.
Of ART FOR CHANGE's initiative of supporting the Brooklyn Museum through this limited edition series, he notes, "The Brooklyn Museum is renowned for its diverse collection of art and its commitment to showcasing the work of artists from diverse backgrounds. For me, supporting the museum is a way to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of Brooklyn and its surrounding communities. The Brooklyn Museum provides emerging and established artists a platform to exhibit their work and engage with a broad audience. This is a compelling opportunity for artists to use their voices as cultural ambassadors. By supporting the museum, I am investing in opportunities for everyone in the community and other artists to establish their paths and share their vision to connect with viewers of all backgrounds. Supporting educational outreach and other efforts aligns with my commitment to promoting art as a catalyst for social change and cultural dialogue."
He continues, "The Brooklyn Museum is crucial in maintaining and stewarding cultural heritage for future generations. By supporting the Brooklyn Museum, I also contribute to preserving artistic legacies and ensuring audiences have access to a diverse range of artistic voices and perspectives."
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José Parlá is a critically acclaimed artist who first started painting walls within Miami's underground art scene during the 1980s. A fusion of influences that include calligraphy, memory recall, psycho-geography, and Abstract Expressionism, his multimedia practice reflects the complexity of the cityscapes in which he finds himself. Born in Miami, FL, and based in Brooklyn, NY, Parlá's work has been exhibited at esteemed venues around the world and can be found in the public collections of the Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, FL; and The British Museum, London, United Kingdom; among others. Additionally, the artist has completed permanent public art commissions at sites that include New York City's One World Trade Center, Barclays Center, and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as Toronto's Concord City Place and London's Chiltern Firehouse.
Of ART FOR CHANGE's initiative of supporting the Brooklyn Museum through this limited edition series, he notes, "The Brooklyn Museum is renowned for its diverse collection of art and its commitment to showcasing the work of artists from diverse backgrounds. For me, supporting the museum is a way to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of Brooklyn and its surrounding communities. The Brooklyn Museum provides emerging and established artists a platform to exhibit their work and engage with a broad audience. This is a compelling opportunity for artists to use their voices as cultural ambassadors. By supporting the museum, I am investing in opportunities for everyone in the community and other artists to establish their paths and share their vision to connect with viewers of all backgrounds. Supporting educational outreach and other efforts aligns with my commitment to promoting art as a catalyst for social change and cultural dialogue."
He continues, "The Brooklyn Museum is crucial in maintaining and stewarding cultural heritage for future generations. By supporting the Brooklyn Museum, I also contribute to preserving artistic legacies and ensuring audiences have access to a diverse range of artistic voices and perspectives."
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Vaughn Spann
New Dawn (Marked Man), 2024
Archival pigment print
24 x 19.75 inches
New Dawn (Marked Man) stems from an ongoing series—distinguished by rigorously composed ‘x’ shapes that hold the center of each canvas—inspired by the artist’s personal experience of being stopped and searched by the police. The composition is emblazoned with a bright orange cross, intended to encapsulate the feeling of being targeted and antagonized by racial profiling. Rendered through densely applied brushstrokes that evoke a swell of emotion, the work captures the internal tensions that arise from routine encounters with social injustice in everyday life. Deliberately abstract in visual form, Spann’s series leaves room for viewers to consider their unique perspectives with regards to the racism and prejudices that plague modern American society.
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Vaughn Spann devotes his practice to abstraction and figuration, as an investigation into resilience, power, and freedom. Born in Florida and based in New Jersey, the artist locates subjects from deeply personal spaces, while reconciling his body both within and out of the studio. His choices of iconography have stimulated discussions surrounding African American art, and situated the Black experience in the United States through a generational perspective. Spann’s critically acclaimed works have been exhibited in venues around the world, and can be found in the collections of esteemed institutions that include the Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, FL; among many others.
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Vaughn Spann devotes his practice to abstraction and figuration, as an investigation into resilience, power, and freedom. Born in Florida and based in New Jersey, the artist locates subjects from deeply personal spaces, while reconciling his body both within and out of the studio. His choices of iconography have stimulated discussions surrounding African American art, and situated the Black experience in the United States through a generational perspective. Spann’s critically acclaimed works have been exhibited in venues around the world, and can be found in the collections of esteemed institutions that include the Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Miami, FL; among many others.
Of ART FOR CHANGE’s initiative of supporting the Brooklyn Museum through this limited edition series, the artist notes, “The Brooklyn Museum is a go-to place for my wife and I, where we take our children when we want to experience contemporary art and culture. It balances historical archives with fresh perspectives, in a way that feels intelligent and cohesive. I am proud to extend a contribution to that conversation.”
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