In the monochrome canvases of the Coast to Coast series (2003/2010), the eye settles on the cartographic surrounds, the margins towards which our glance is led. In the slim borders left to frame the paintings, Parisi indicates that he had originally used oil colours the modelled shapes of which, wrinkled and oozy reappear on the upper acrylic layer, seen as a uniform background at the centre of the scene.
These details are possibly reminiscent of the silhouette of the Teatrini (1964-1966) by Lucio Fontana, the representations of which were projected on to the depths of the corresponding Concetti spaziali. Parisi, however, anchors them firmly to the surface of the painting focusing on it the spatial perception of above and below and the temporal perception of before and after. As he had already done in the earlier series Inversi (2000-2004), the artist hides the representation behind the last veil of paint submerging shapes in the dominant monochrome.

From: Stefano Pezzato (curated by), “Paolo Parisi / Observatorium (Museum)”; exhibition catalogue, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, 2008