Isaac Díaz Pardo (1920-2012) is a key figure for our understanding of contemporary Galician culture. Marked by the death of his father at the hands of the rebels in 1936 and by his relationship with the Galicians exiled in the Americas, he dedicated his entire life to recovering memory in Galicia through his companies.
Isaac’s life would be marked for ever by his relations with his father, Camilo Díaz Baliño, who was a leading stage designer and artist. He was his first art teacher, and his unexpected death in 1936 would lead to a major change in his way of understanding life. His wife, Carmen Arias, known as “Mimina”, would for over 70 years be his unconditional companion, providing the support he needed for the success of his projects.
His contact with Castelao and Ánxel Casal in his father’s workshop in the 1930s and the re-encounter with Luis Seoane in Argentina in 1957 changed Isaac’s life, which took a turn in favour of the defence of the memory of Galicia. Other figures such as Albalat, Rafael Dieste and Lorenzo Varela also formed part of Díaz Pardo’s life, supporting him with their ideas and friendship for many years.
Defined as multi-faceted, many-sided and even “a Renaissance man”, Isaac Díaz Pardo embodied within a single person the profiles of painter, ceramicist, designer, architect, writer and businessman. He achieved a notable success in each of these facets. His activity was frenetic, but he always remained committed to the culture and memory of Galicia.
The creation of the Laboratorio de Formas (Laboratory of Forms) in 1963 was triggered by his meeting with Luis Seoane in Argentina, as a response to the perceived loss of memory suffered by Galicia. It was a key project for Galician culture in the 20th century, and resulted in a number of major projects, including the recovery of Sargadelos.
His business record, from the start of the Castro factory and the Magdalena factory in Argentina, until the project with Luis Seoane called the Laboratorio de Formas, represented a growth and renewal of the artistic structures of Galicia in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.
Research resources is a section above all for students and researchers from which they can download a variety of documents and resources on Díaz Pardo, as well as a bibliography of all the works dealing with him.
“About Isaac” is a space that includes current events and news related to the life and work of Díaz Pardo: exhibitions, homages, publications and other works about him.
Concurring with the centenary of the birth of Isaac Díaz Pardo (1920-2020) and with the inauguration of the exhibition on his figure in the Cidade da Cultura, this website is presented to approach and study the figure of this Galician intellectual.
