Claudio Parentela: Countless Ventures

Calling Claudio Parentela simply an artist is an understatement. Parentela is an artist, cartoonist, and a collagist. When he’s not creating art, he’s a freelance journalist. Still, he has interviews all over the Web ranging from his own art blogs (Foggy Grizzly and The eXTra finGer, among several others) and he also teams up with other publications on the side. We’ll just start with his artwork since it would take so many articles to cover all that he does. Parentela was born and raised in Catanzaro, Italy, where he currently lives and works. He grew up drawing, and began sending out his art in 1995. He describes his art as “weird, colorful, raw and dreamy, romantic, anarchic, linear [and] twisted,” Parentela told VA Mag.

His mother thought his drawings were demonic due to the abstract and sometimes dark nature of his art.“However, maybe my mother had a reason because I’m not very ‘normal.’ But I was born a poor, dark freak in a perfect world of normal people… But are they so normal or are they all mad?” Parentela said in Lummox Journal, a literary and arts magazine. The artist said that he has always had a fascination with art. “I have always painted and I have always [been] interested in everything that is art. I love to create with all [that] I have under my hand – colors,  papers, weird photos – I love my job; it makes me feel free, [and] true[to] myself,” he told VA. Music is also one of Parentela’s inspirations. He mentioned to VA and Art Nectar (an art and culture website) that music is a must for his creative process. Then, he’ll watch whatever is around him to begin creating.   

“I need first good music, possibly a good beer, nothing else. I [really] need good music, [because] without music I’m not able to create,” Parentela said in an interview on Art Nectar. Once he gets started, Parentela uses different media to create his art. He uses magazine clippings, paint and ink to create his visions. “I love to cut and paste things, in a new way. The result is always new naturally, like us. We’re all different and the same. We mix our feelings [and] our thoughts every minute of our days,” Parentela explains to VA Mag. Parentela said he likes to play to create. It’s evident in his collages. He cuts, pastes and paints. Every time, his art [creates] something new. He never knows what will come out until it’s finished and staring him back in the eyes. Art is forever changing just like the people who create it. Parentela sees this as an opportunity. To challenge himself as an artist, he strives “to experiment and to invent myself everyday in a new ways,” he explains. 

Parentela stays busy. Between interviewing artists and collaborating with others to make art, he still makes time to discover and create art of his own. He’s currently creating art based on tarot cards, and is preparing for three art shows he’ll do in the upcoming months. He’ll also be interviewing artists for his blogs and for other magazines with whom he works. In these next few months, we’ll be able to see a lot of Parentela’s work. Regardless of whether you’re looking for art or articles, Parentela’s name will definitely be everywhere. For more information: www.claudioparentela.net

-Geneva Toddy