As a painter, designer, sculptor, and architect, Jorge Pardo is a contemporary Renaissance man who blurs the boundaries of what defines art. The artist, who designed his own home from top to bottom – tiles, lamps, gardens, and all – for an exhibition with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 1998, has regularly brought into question when and how art and utility can embody the same object and space. Pardo’s art is often useful – well known sculptures include a pier on a lake installed for the Münster Skulpture Projekte and a residence in the Yucatan jungle blending the ruins of a 17th century hacienda with modern architecture, in addition to a boutique hotel in Arles, and smaller objects such as lamps, paintings, and furniture.