Paul Ramirez Jonas

Guided by an interest in participatory art, Paul Ramirez Jonas creates works that explore the notion of the unspoken contract between audience and artwork. The public nature of many of his commissions, coupled with their often-engaging premises, encourages viewers to complete and to validate the works, drawing the artist and his audience into an equal dialogue. For his Key to the City project (2010), the artist reproduced thousands of keys, which would unlock two dozen specific locations across New York City, that were ceremoniously presented to interested parties in Times Square. His works have been exhibited at the Sao Paolo Biennial, the Johannesburg Biennial, and the Venice Biennale, as well as at numerous institutions, including the New Museum, MoMA PS1, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.