As a young kid I was in love with breakdancing. I practiced the uprock style, which is a battle style of dance that looks like fighting. It comes fro…

- Jose Parla

When I was young I was constantly reading walls; I took in everything written on walls, from love messages to political messages. It was my hobby and…

- Jose Parla

I think artists should define themselves. They should speak about their work and how it relates to society and what's going on in the world.

- Jose Parla

Sometimes I think I shouldn't explain much about my work because people will just feel what they feel when they see it. They'll love it or hate it or…

- Jose Parla

One teacher told me that my work belonged in the trash. That day I ran out of the classroom and ended up in the library, where there happened to be a…

- Jose Parla

If I'm going through something, I paint through it. It's very physical. I'm writing, I'm thinking, I'm meditating, I'm moving, I'm jumping off ladder…

- Jose Parla

Sometimes I'm inspired by a certain part of my life - I'm thinking about a place and I'll mix the colors from memory.

- Jose Parla

The walls around us bear witness to lives past and present.

- Jose Parla

My work is an exploration of the self. I've always been concerned with how I'm living and how that reflects in the painting.

- Jose Parla