Hear with your senses,
Listen to understand,
Write to act.
Wandering in a straight line
« Only one thing is necessary : solitude. »
That is what Rainer-Maria Rilke wrote to a young poet who sought his advice.
Without doubt, solitude, to which we might add meditation, is one of the anchors of Enrique Pardo, just as it is true that the work would not be developed in the midst of hubbub or in the whirlwinds of fashion. Certainly solitudes, but in order to communicate better, to be a participant among others.
What exactly is classicism ? To try to define it would be to fall into a trap.
As a graphic designer, Enrique Pardo is, nonetheless, clearly a classic in the sense in which his works seek the outline in a perpetual state of concern, in a hypersensitivity to the finest detail ; they want to place themselves outside of time, with finding the ideal as the only quest. To make inspiration arise from the depths of being ; such is Enrique Pardo’s recipe : the sirens live in the abyss.
With him, the demonstration that a modern classicism exists is performed, freed of that which the past consecrated. This is exactly what is revealed in the range of his creations, the challenge each time being to equal the excellence of prestigious brands.
He found his style right away. How did he conceive it ? He will laconically respond that a star guides him, dictates precision to him ; so he is like a navigator who takes his bearings in the sky.
He acquired his first references from the distinguished Julien van der Wal. He then turned toward professional works, included them, and overtook them. That was only the beginning of a journey that would enable him to approach the work in its multiple facets.
It was first of all a geographic journey which from stage to stage sharpened the awakening : there is something to be taken from each place. Superimposing, it is an artistic itinerary that, from the knowing improvisation of Japanese calligraphy to high technology, touches all.
As a photographer, Enrique Pardo makes the thinking of Henri Cartier-Bresson his own. The craft consists in demonstrating vigilance in all instants, recognizing the fundamental role of light, to place oneself as a protagonist and not as an outsider, to consequently feel empathy, to seize the stakes of face to face encounters, to have the intuition of that which merits being fixed. Then, in the face of the cliché, it is recognizing the possible expressiveness of imperfection and of imbalances.
The graphic designer aspires to work with the photographer. In combining the two roles, Enrique Pardo arrives at a harmony which, beginning from the first glance, dissuades any analysis.
A.P.
Born in Paris in 1967 — Half Argentinian, half Eurasian — Raised in Singapore, London, Paris and in Switzerland — Graduated from the École des Arts décoratifs Decorative Arts School) in Geneva in 1989 — Graphic designer and artistic director in agencies from 1991 to 1995 — Independent since 1995 — First elephant photographed in 1998 — Swiss citizen since 2006 — Photography for many years — INFP (Introverted feeling, extraverted intuition, introverted sensing, extraverted sensing)
( sometimes abroad )
— Happui Labs
— studio.enriquepardo.com
— ordrepanique.com
— edesign.ch
