In this essay, Justo Pastor Mellado discusses the works by the painters Pablo Burchard, Gracia Barrios, and José Balmes at the exhibition curated by Francisco González. Pastor Mellado notes that González’s curatorial plan establishes a hypothesis for the manchista tradition endorsed by the Facultad de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de Chile, which creates “a small archeological moment” in the process of shaping modern painting in Chile. Mellado posits the concept of “filiation” as an angle from which to review the works of Balmes and Barrios and their connections to Buchard’s works, pointing to Buchardian examples in each. Producing works with “a minimum of subject” is a strategy the two artists share, albeit with different approaches. In Barrios, the author sees a “temporary Buchardian inscription” whose subject operates like a “graphic economy.” In Balmes he discerns a “tactical Buchardian constitution” in which the subject is part of an “objectual economy.”

The art critic and curator Justo Pastor Mellado (b. 1949) wrote “La noción de filiación” for the exhibition Burchard/Balmes/Barrios: Exposición de gabinete, which was curated by the painter and restorer Francisco González Lineros (1966–2018). The exhibition included paintings by Pablo Burchard (1875–1964) that showcased his work with landscape and the mancha [marks or daubs] as well as his academic career. He influenced a number of artists, such as Gracia Barrios (1927–2020) and José Balmes (1927–2016), the other two artists at the exhibition. The curatorial selection focused on introducing relationships between the various works. [For more of Pastor Mellado’s texts about these two painters, see the ICAA Digital Archive: “Gracia Barrios” (doc. no. 739576) and “El realismo crítico de José Balmes” (doc. no. 778658).]

Throughout his career, Justo Pastor Mellado has come up with several hypotheses concerning the evolution of Chilean art, making connections between works and/or landmark events that create certain situations. He mentions concepts that provide a sort of artistic organization chart. In his view of Chilean painting, the “manchista tradition” is a key element; it creates a formal genealogy consisting of different artistic proposals. The idea of “filiation” points to existing connections that link works and authors together. His focus on the mancha leads him to speak of the modernity in the art field; he then challenges the painting tradition and suggests parallels with modern narratives in European art. Though Mellado is, in this case, examining paintings, he is mainly concerned with prints, which are an essential part of his theory about the flowering of modernity in Chile. Printmaking was the main instigator of criticism directed at painting: what Mellado defines as unillustrativity. All these thoughts and opinions were published in his Novela chilena del grabado [Chilean Novel About Printmaking] (1995), a collection of essays in which Balmes is shown as a key contributor of the innovations that transformed the visual arts. In the text “Un caso de producción de identidad artística” (doc. no. 736039), Mellado outlines the history of painting as compared to the history of printmaking, a fundamental link in his hypothesis.

In 2000, Mellado curated the Tercer periodo. 1973–2000: transferencia y densidad in the exhibition cycle known as Chile 100 Años Artes Visuales at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Santiago). For the catalogue, the art historian José de Nordenflycht (b. 1970) wrote “Historias de mancha: marca, superficie y borde” (doc. no. 745760), which illustrates one of Mellado’s central themes based on “La noción de filiación.”