Pedro Paricio sets out to mix street culture with fine art in his practice, paying homage to great artistic figures of the past, such as Picasso and Magritte. He aims to examine and question the role of the artist in his bright and dynamic canvases.
Five Minutes with Contemporary Artist, Pedro Paricio
Words by
Pedro Paricio
12th July 2024
Contemporary Spanish artist, Pedro Paricio, takes five minutes to share the long-lived inspirations behind his prismatic colours and vibrant portraits, alongside beloved memories from his childhood home of Tenerife and how to spend a culture-filled afternoon in Barcelona, his current home.
Pedro Paricio's Pacific Coast, painted in 2024 with acrylic on linen
Paricio’s unique visual language blurs the boundaries between the figurative and the abstract. His vibrant designs are a signature motif, filling familiar silhouettes with prismatic colours and geometric patterns. His subjects range from contemporary science to Hispanic folklore and from music to philosophy.
5 minutes with Contemporary Spanish Artist, Pedro Paricio
What I love to express through my work is... timelessness.
I grew up on... a volcanic island in the tropics – La Orotava in Tenerife. My favourite memory here is from... when I was 8 years old, drawing the daughter of my music teacher while she was playing the violin.
'Songs of the Open Road' at the Halcyon Gallery, featuring artworks from Pedro Paricio, is open until the 1st of September
I became an Artist because... of Freedom. Freedom to create new works, freedom to live life in my way and choose daily what I do with my energy. Nothing is free, everything has its own risk, but to do it you have to put many things on the line. And that is what being an artist is to me. Honesty and authenticity are so important. And that is what I love about my job and is what inspires me and keeps me in the studio 12 hours a day.
Pedro Paricio's Canyon Road, painted in 2024 with acrylic on linen
My training / background in a nutshell was... anarchic, self-taught and stubborn.
My creative influences are... books, cinema, museums, flowers and haute couture. And Pablo Picasso, I have become so attached to this artist. I buy every book related to him - I must have 30 or 40 books, biographies and catalogue raisonnes, and of course this fed into the exhibition Paricio • Picasso at Halcyon Gallery in 2019. Art is an endless pursuit!
The highlight of my career so far has to be... painting daily since I was a small child.
I am based in Barcelona and my three favourite places are... L'Auditori, a concert hall and music school, the Sunday Books Market of Sant Antoni and the National Art Museum of Catalonia MNAC. I love museums in general - they are like a treasury or collective of souls, encapsulated in every portrait, crafted by artists dating back a millennia.
The genre of portraiture... offers such a profound exploration of the human experience. This is the main inspiration for Nine Portraits – where my focus lies on well-known female portraits, as I aim to elevate the central role that women have played in the arts, both as subjects on the canvas and as artists themselves, reclaiming their mastery alongside some of the most renowned masters.
Pedro Paricio beside his piece, Canyon Road
The place I long to visit is...The Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican city in Rome, alone with my family. That would be a sublime experience.
The best book I have read in the last year is... "Beauty and The Best: Diary of a Film" by the polifacetic French artist Jean Cocteau.
Pedro Paricio's Mulholland, on display as part of the current 'Songs of the Open Road' exhibition at Halcyon Gallery
If you are visiting anywhere and want a different experience, my secret tip is... to find a good bakery and wake up early!
My favourite place in the world is... my studio and my home, which are mostly the same.
To do my job, I can’t do without... passion.
View Paricio’s artworks at Halcyon Gallery, London, on show in their current exhibition Songs of the Open Road until September 1.
