Marcel Pardo Ariza

Marcel Pardo Ariza explores the relationship of representation, queerness and wry (and witty) humor through color sets and prop-like objects. Their photographs incorporate subjects and objects that behave in seemingly absurd or “erroneous” ways. These tableaux explore aspects of visibility, marginalization and “failure” while questioning race and gender stereotypes. Pardo is also interested in exploring the legacy of the medium of photography and analyzing its potential as an object in the digital era.

Marcel Pardo Ariza was born in Bogotá, Colombia. They hold a BA from Earlham College and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Their photographic work has been shown at Glasshouse (Brooklyn, NY); SOMArts, Bass & Reiner, Luggage Store Gallery, Guerrero Gallery, Embark Gallery, Root Division (San Francisco, CA). Pardo has curated shows locally at Cranium Corporation (San Francisco, CA); R/SF (San Francisco, CA); and CTRL+SHFT collective (Oakland, CA). Pardo worked as a Curatorial Assistant at the Clocktower Gallery (Manhattan, NY), Co-Founder of Noroof Gallery (San Francisco, CA) and is currently a Program Assistant at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA).

Ariza is the recipient of the 2017 TOSA Studio Award.