Exhibition
Jorge Pardo
15 Mar 2008 – 18 Apr 2008
About
For his second exhibition at Haunch of Venison London, Cuban-American artist Jorge Pardo is to present a series of new works inspired by the artist's project Mérida House ' a dilapidated building in the Mexican city of Mérida, currently being restructured and reworked by the artist using influences from the surrounding landscape and local culture.The exhibition will present a series of objects relating to the house and its surrounding landscape. Wall mounted, mask relief-sculptures will be presented alongside five sets of eight intricate lamps and new large-scale paintings constructed from numerous individual screen-painted elements. The show will also reveal for the first time life-size photo murals of Merida House and its interior, presenting Pardo designed tiles, floors and other decorative elements.
Mérida House, is being reconstructed from the foundations of the building to the landscaping of the garden and swimming pool, and every detail of the interior, furniture and lighting, and is due for completion this April. Merida house is a building transformed into a sculpture that is also functional as a residence, the house/artwork will remain part of the landscape, vividly integrating its owner and visitors into the overall surrounding environs.
The work of Jorge Pardo addresses issues of space and environment, his beautifully crafted furniture, sculpture, wallpaper and tiles, lamps and paintings building their own framework and reference point from which they are viewed. Crossing the boundaries of visual art with design and architecture, Pardo challenges the notion of public and private space and how we use it, and since the 1980's has been using discipline and form usually associated with design to address the status of an artwork and the approach of the viewer.
The first full length monograph on Jorge Pardo spanning more than 20 years of the artist's work will be released in April, published by Phaidon Press.
