Location:
Skarstedt, 64th Street, New York

Dates:
May 13th – July 15th

‍“Most are afraid of total freedom, of nothingness, of life. You try to control everything, but nature is uncontrollable. It doesn’t matter how you express yourself (words, image, electric guitar), what matters is that you have something to express.” - (Steven Parrino, The No Texts, 2003, p. 34)

Nobody sums up the truths of this world like a properly nihilist punk. Nobody can be called a properly nihilist punk more than Steven Parrino.

Dying tragically in 2005 Parrino had already made a name of himself as a punk modernist painter. His work is stunningly raw and barbaric, full of emotion that channelled straight from the beating heart of the punk movement and its many subcultures.

Don’t be fooled though, as everyone’s favourite criminal Banksy loves to say “Mindless vandalism can take a bit of thought". Parrino was a classically trained artist who described himself as “a necrophiliac” for the dead vocation of painting. His ripped, torn, and contorted black canvasses were expertly crafted to give you a glimpse into his nihilistic semi-beating heart. You can’t help but look into the depths of the black folds and think “fuck this world”.

For the first time in over ten years, his work is being shown in his birthplace of New York. Skarstedt on 64th Street, New York (make sure to get the right one, there’s two), is showing a comprehensive collection of his paintings and drawings from 1986 onwards, with the aim to reaffirm and continue his legacy. Let's face it, this world can never have too much punk.