Marcel Pardo Ariza (they/them) explores the relationship of wry humor, queerness and representation through color sets and prop-like objects. Their photographs incorporate quotidian objects in seemingly absurd ways creating tableaux that mix recognizable elements with magical realism. Ariza is interested in the action of looking within the theatricality of “the set” and their visually provoking portraits explore metaphors regarding race and gender.

SEE(d) visited Marcel Pardo Ariza’s studio on Saturday, March 9th, 2019, 3:00 - 5:00pm at the Minnesota Street Projects artist studios.

​Marcel Pardo Ariza (b. 1991 Bogotá, Colombia) is the recipient of the Tosa Studio Award 2017, a Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Award and a finalist for the 2017 San Francisco Artist Award. They are the recent recipient of SFMOMA’s SECA Art Award (2023), and was included in Bay Area Now 8 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. They received their BA from Earlham College, Richmond, IN in 2013 and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) in 2016. Ariza lives and works in San Francisco, CA.