JP paralelos (Juan-Sí González + Paloma Dallas):
Mental Landscape
November 5-December 19, 2009

Artists talks: Thursday, November 12, 7:30 pm, Olin Auditorium
An opening reception will follow in the gallery

Clearly situated in this time of economic uncertainty, record job loss, military overstretch, and marked culture wars, this site-specific installation establishes a conceptual approach to the notion of landscape, exploring how the physical, social, political and economic forces and artifacts of a place both shape and reflect its culture and way of life.

Photographs taken from the highway are intermingled with road maps, audio interviews, video, and texts from USA Today, creating a sprawling narrative of place—in this case, Ohio. Running through the disparate elements that comprise the exhibition, is a highway system of wooden rulers and hundreds of brightly colored toy cars. The installation draws attention to how our public spaces, our shared mental landscape, has been developed for the convenience of the car, becoming fertile ground for indiscriminate marketing—where even Jesus is one more product to be sold.

Cuban-born Juan-Si González and his partner Paloma Dallas, an Ohio native, explore contemporary political and social themes through multi-media installation and performance. González has exhibited his work nationally and internationally, including Frost Art Museum; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Exit Art; El Museo del Barrio; SPACES; Temple University Gallery, Rome; Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City; and City Art Museum in Ljubljana, Slovenia. González began collaborating with Dallas, a writer and journalist, in 2001. In 2007, the Ohio Arts Council awarded JPparalelos an Individual Excellence Award for their work.

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