Paul Ramirez Jonas

Paul Ramirez Jonas’s public art inspires moments of intimate reflection while, at the same time, evoking what we share in common. Guided by an overarching interest in participation, many of his commissions encourage direct engagement by the public. For his large-scale Key to the City project (2010) with Creative Time in cooperation with the City of New York, the artist reproduced thousands of keys, which unlocked two dozen specific locks across the five boroughs. These keys were ceremoniously presented to individuals in Times Square, along with passports listing the active sites. Other works have been exhibited at the Sao Paolo Biennial, Shanghai Biennial, Johannesburg Biennial, and Venice Biennale, in addition to solo institutional exhibitions at Pinacoteca do Estado (Sao Paulo); The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, Connecticut); The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art (Austin, Texas); Ikon Gallery (UK); and Cornerhouse (UK). His work has been featured in group shows at the Guggenheim Museum, New Museum, MoMA PS1, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and has been profiled in ARTFORUM, Zing, ARTnews, The New York Times, Art in America, and others. Ramirez Jonas lives and works in New York City, where he teaches at Hunter College. Born and raised in Honduras, Ramirez Jonas attended Brown University (BFA) and Rhode Island School of Design (MFA).