There is a pleasant correspondence between the colours of Jorge Pardo's paintings, large-scale drawings and lamps. This connection becomes clearer in a new exhibition dedicated to the Cuban American artist, currently on at Milan-based Gió Marconi.
In Pardo's third solo show at the gallery (until 9th May), the paintings, drawings and lamps are displayed side by side: the multi-coloured pieces immediately reveal Pardo's complex practice. He is indeed a painter, architect and designer with a passion for combining craftsmanship techniques with computerized production, and exploring the intersection of technology and artisanal traditions.
From a distance Pardo's new paintings exhibited at Gió Marconi, call to mind Pointillist works of art, but, if you get closer, you realise the colour planes that emerge are formed by intersecting and overlapping shapes.
For these additive works Pardo accumulated images - personal photographs, such as the lush garden of his Mexican home, past works of his own as well as works by other artists such as Claude Monet or Willem de Kooning - and layered them digitally.
The images were then laser-cut engraved on MDF and eventually hand-painted in acrylic. These abstract paintings represent a sort of stratification of memories, and are conceived by the artist as the results, suspended between painting and sculpture, of a personal archeological excavation.
Like his paintings, also his textured drawings are agglomerates of family photos and of other assorted images coloured on the computer. The final images are translated into vector graphics, printed on cotton Fabriano paper and coloured by hand in pencils.While looking at the paintings and drawings it is at times possible to identify a face or a flower, but what should actually be appreciated is the overall effect.
The layered technique prevails also in Pardo's sconces: these multi-piece modular systems are indeed made by overimposing several pieces of laser-cut recycled plastic sheets, that are mounted on birch wood with aluminum screws and painted with alcohol inks. Each lamp is composed of several layers and various elements that contribute to create a sort of intricate three-dimensional architecture.
The wall lamps, based like the other works on the principle of accumulation, at times remind of complex architectures find in nature, such as beehives; at others they are reminiscent of sea creatures or corals, or call to mind ancient Mayan structures (Pardo's studio is located in Mérida, Mexico, and his painting techniques and works often show vivid Mexican and Mayan influences) or futuristic architectures. You can indeed easily imagine Pardo's lamps on the set of a stylish sci-fi film.
The lamps are again the result of a combination of technological and artisanal processes: they are developed and conceived digitally, but made by hand in Pardo's Mérida studio with the help of his team. These pieces are also seen as the results of two different practices: they are architectural objects in an art context.
Accumulation, layers and an enticing use of colours are all expedients for Pardo: through them the artist invites viewers to look at a piece and consider it as a whole, then look back and appreciate all the details, gradually discovering the multitude of pieces and layers integrated in just one object.
The event at Gió Marconi shows Pardo has a refreshing approach to his art: his works are not highly conceptual, but their colours, forms, shapes and techniques are mesmerizing.
Pardo himself is a highly inspiring figure as he reminds us through his multiple practice that highly creative minds do not need to be confined to one medium, but can paint, draw, create interior design objects or build houses (Pardo's first high-profile project was 4166 Sea View Lane, a house he built in LA as part of the city's Museum of Contemporary of Art's Focus exhibition series) and even hotels (Pardo designed one for Maja Hoffmann's LUMA foundation in Arles, France).
Image credits for this post
1 - 3. Jorge Pardo, Installation view, Gió Marconi, Milan; Courtesy: the artist; Gió Marconi, Milan; Photo: Fabio Mantegna
4.
Jorge Pardo
Untitled, 2022
Acrylic on MDF 6 mm. engraved
179.5 x 179.5 x 5 cm
5.
Jorge Pardo
Untitled, 2022 (detail)
Acrylic on MDF 6 mm. engraved
179.5 x 179.5 x 5 cm
6.
Jorge Pardo
Untitled, 2022
Colored pencils on Cotton Fabriano Paper 350 g.
118.5 x 199 cm
131.4 x 211 x 5 cm (framed)
7 - 12.
Jorge Pardo
Untitled, 2022
Painted PTG plastic, mixed media, alcohol
inks, birch, aluminium and light
ca. 100 x 100 x 48 cm
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