As part of the Kabinett sector at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach fair, P·P·O·W is pleased to present rarely seen works by multimedia artist Manuel Pardo, showcasing pieces spanning his early paintings, “Technicolor” and “Stardust” series. In these compositions, Pardo pays tribute to his mother Gladys— who moved her family to the U.S. from Cuba in the 1960s— employing whimsical designs and stylized fashions culled from 1950s Americana to present an androgynous, heroic figure that became a recurring motif throughout his career, well before the subject of gender gained recognition in the art historical canon, as evidenced by the virtuosic painting Tahitian Bride, 1984.

In both “Technicolor” and “Stardust”, the comic book style and flat colors appear brightly uncomplicated, but in looking at these reoccurring (yet distinct) figures, they become something more than festive: they are a flourish against the status quo. In confronting his own trauma, Pardo replaces the archetypical image of armament with a stylish (and equally powerful) appearance of glamor.

Manuel Pardo (1952-2012) was born on July 4 in Cardenas, Cuba. He first showed his work in New York's East Village in the eighties, where he was introduced to Marcia Tucker, founder and director of the New Museum in NY, when she included him in the groundbreaking exhibition, The Other Man: Alternative Representation of Masculinity. Pardo went on to exhibit internationally in solo exhibitions in New York, Paris, Mexico City, Cologne, Havana, and Milan. Exhibitions include Late 20th Century Still Lifes at the New Museum curated by Marcia Tucker, Le Jardin at Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey, Mexico, and Un Cubain a Paris at Galerie Piltzer, Paris, France. Corporate commissions include The Motherland Series, murals by Manuel Pardo at the British Airways Terminal at JFK International Airport, NY; and Hermes & Visa at Arte Moda, Mexico City, curated by Justo Sierra. In 2011, a major retrospective of Pardo’s work was mounted at Begovich Gallery, California State University, Fullerton, CA.