El Olvido
2021 – Oil on canvas
16” x 20”
In this series, the artist reflects on philosophical concepts of beauty and excesses. Guajardo studies philosophers such as Plato to create these paintings where color gives life to materialism and excesses in our contemporary world. The artist depicts the chaos in our society by showing parallels between the idolatry of luxury items in fashion and the self-destruction of humanity.
This series is both, an irony, and a parody. It is a critique of consumer culture, commercialization, and the absence of moral values that have led us into chaos and the destruction of the planet. The artist uses anachronistic elements combining Renaissance and Baroque themes in a contemporary style. Guajardo works with fantastical elements in her creations, but dense and excessive like the themes explored in Renaissance and Baroque artworks.
As historical influences, the artists hold conversations with the following writers and artists on the same subject: Dante Alighieri, Hieronymous Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Francisco de Goya, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, René Magritte, and Oscar Wilde.