José Parlá Will Bring His Studio to PAMM for "Homecoming"

Imagine being a creator and losing the ability to create. What feels like your sole purpose has been stripped away from you. Who do you become? How do you get back to the person you once were?

In 2021, artist José Parlá contracted the coronavirus, and it left him in a coma for four months. He also suffered a stroke and brain bleeding due to the virus. When he awoke and returned to this realm of existence, he wasn't the same. The artist needed to not only relearn how to speak, walk, and move, but he had to relearn his history.

"Throughout the entire process of relearning who I was, painting allowed me to have something physical to hang onto," Parlá tells New Times over Zoom. "The very gesture of a brush stroke, mark-making, was connected to memory. It helped me tremendously, but after an experience like that, there is no more normal."

Parlá's upcoming show at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, which opens November 14, is aptly titled "Homecoming." The artist collaborated with curator Maritza Lacayo on the exhibition.

The pair first met back in 2019 while participating in Young Arts. Later, at the end of 2021, Lacayo had the opportunity to visit Parlá's studio in New York. "I went there already with the intention of asking him if he would be interested in doing a show at PAMM," says Lacayo with a coy smile over the same Zoom call. "I didn't have to try very hard, which was great."

The studio visit between curator and artist occurred a few months after Parlá was released from the hospital. He was still relearning how to speak and had trouble breathing. As the pair discussed the potential for an exhibition, they landed on the notion of "homecoming" for various reasons.

Not only would it be a homecoming to his hometown and a homecoming to his art practice, but the artist elaborates, "It became this homecoming to the self, to the spiritual self, to life, to breathing. To learning how to be who I was before this traumatic, difficult experience."

Since that fateful studio visit, the two have become close friends and supporters of one another's successes. This is evident by how they complement each other while telling a wholly unique story.
"José is this artist who Miami is so embedded in his work and his practice and in who he is," says Lacayo, clutching at her heart. "An institution hasn't embraced him in this way yet, and I thought PAMM could be the perfect place for him to kind of come home and to show his work."

Parlá nods along as he steadily balances his phone's camera on his knee. The glimmer of a gold chain peeks out from the collar of his butter-yellow T-shirt.

"This really feels like a homecoming for me," Parlá reiterates. "I'm being invited to come back to the place where I grew up; that's always been dear not only to my heart but to how I am as a person. Miami is in my language."

The Brooklyn-based artist was born and raised in Miami. Though he has lived in New York City for nearly three decades, the Magic City still inspires his every breath.

He adds that no matter his travels or where his art may take him, "It's always about being an ambassador to Cuban culture, to Miami culture, to who I am and who my parents are."

The true essence of Parlá as an artist — as with many artists — resides in his studio. It's a place not only where he dreams up the work and creates the work, but the studio also acts as an archive.

And now, museum-goers can experience Parlá's studio firsthand in "Homecoming." In a never-before-done setup, PAMM is re-creating the artist's Brooklyn studio inside the museum. There will be ladders, chairs, carts, tables, vinyls — all sorts of elements that will be flown in from New York.

"I have always dreamt of bringing the studio to the public," says Parlá, beaming. "It'll be as if you're walking into a normal day at the studio. You have my tables, my furniture, my music. The paintings will be set up in that stage, where they're still a work in progress." He describes the scene and uses his right hand to show how expansive it'll all be. His eyes dart around within the thick black frames of his glasses.
Nothing in the recreation will be left to chance. Even the music selection has been perfectly curated. Parlá explains that he's specific about the music genres and songs he plays while painting. They all connect to the larger piece he's working on and are part of his research study.

The best part? Audiences will be treated to a live site-specific mural painting by the artist.

"We've never done this before," Lacayo explains. "It's a big leap for us at the museum, but we also know this isn't something that you can do with just any artist. There's something extremely lyrical and beautiful about the way in which José paints."

Lacayo uses her hands to sort of conduct an invisible dance. "I've always interpreted his work as like a remnant of performance because you see what's left of his body jumping and moving, and his arms are wide and high, and it requires so much physicality."

The live painting will occur on October 26 and 27.

"What I love the most is that we're giving people a sneak peek of what I experienced because I got to see these [paintings] hanging in his studio, and now I get to see them hanging at PAMM," says Lacayo almost in disbelief. "And there's really nothing more rewarding than that."

José Parlá's "Homecoming." On view November 14 through July 6, 2025, at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets cost $14 to $18; admission is free for members and children 6 and under.