In addition to thoroughly describing and explaining the most important signs and qualities in these works by Mercedes Pardo (1921–2005) from aesthetic perspectives that deepen the viewer’s subjective experience, this essay by the curator and critic Freddy Carreño discusses the nature of her originality. He also highlights what distinguishes Pardo’s work from other maestros in the Venezuelan constructive movement. This essay therefore goes beyond the tired old perception of her as merely a great colorist or an artist who uses space wisely. Carreño calls her work “a metaphor for sensitivity, inspired by a visual statement expressed in terms of the modernist aesthetic: as an abstraction.” He also studies her work from the perspective of what he believes makes her unique. He mentions that, within abstraction, Pardo proposes concepts related to “sensitivity” and “subjectivity” which, to some extent, were roundly rejected by modernity because of their “militant asceticism.” Carreño’s review of Pardo’s work reaffirms her position as a major figure in twentieth-century Venezuelan art.
There are some equally informative reviews of other works at the end of the essay. Though brief, it nonetheless explores key aspects of Pardo’s career, including a cursory but revealing view of Mercedes Pardo’s nature and her ideas about art and life in terms of the “(…) different languages over the course of time that she reclaims and reinvents in her work, in that personal, intimate act of creation that is, essentially a lifelong commitment.” This essay appeared in the catalogue for the retrospective exhibition Mercedes Pardo 1951–2000 (Caracas: Museo Alejandro Otero, 2000–2001).
[For more information on this work, see in the ICAA digital archive the interviews conducted by Ruth Auerbach, “La creación como argumento” (doc. no. 1143060), and by Margarita D’Amico, “Mercedes Pardo: 1 x 9” (doc. no. 1155959); the articles by Alejandro Otero, “Mercedes Pardo: color de la serigrafía” (doc. no. 1143176), and by Roberto Guevara, “Color y módulos en Mercedes Pardo” (doc. no. 1155991); see also the articles by Bélgica Rodríguez, “Mercedes Pardo: 1951 – 2000” (doc. no. 1143027), and by Lorenzo Batallán, “‘Signos’ de la pintora Mercedes Pardo” (doc. no. 1155975)].