“The walls around us bear witness to lives past and present,” says artist José Parlá. Based in New York, Parlá visits Hong Kong frequently, and it’s there that he became fascinated by human markings, imprints, faded posters, and the physical changes that occur on buildings, park benches, and landmarks over time. Taking inspiration from such surface accretion, he layers his canvas with materials usually reserved for city streets— acrylic, spray paint, papers, and pigmented powders—and then scrubs down through the strata, as if retrieving memories. —E.C.