Paul Ramirez Jonas (b. California, US, 1965) and Berna Reale (b. Pará, Brazil, 1965) are contemporary artists interested in the notion of public space: its practice, its image, its politics, its aesthetics. Both artists have addressed this subject through performance and participative works where the public is invited to take part.

Palomo (2013) consists of a performance registered on video and a series of photographs of the action by Berna Reale. The work refers to one of the canonic forms of monumental representation: the equestrian portrait, which since antiquity has been used to represent figures of authority, key political and military heroes. The artist, in androgynous costume wearing a black uniform and a dog muzzle, rides a horse painted in vivid red while she goes through the deserted streets of a Brazilian city. A figure embodying enraging authority is transformed into a moving, dynamic emblem of ambiguity as a means to question legal violence and police abuse in Brazil.

'The Commons' by Paul Ramirez Jonas acquired by the Brooklyn Museum 

On the occasion of the two-people show that includes works by Paul Ramirez Jonas at Nara Roeler's New York , we are thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Commons (2011) by the Broolyn Museum, now composing the permanent collection of the space.

Ramirez Jonas has produced an entire repertoire of works based on historical facts as part of collective imagination, drawing from themes such as Magellan's world circumvallation, NASA's exploration of the Moon, the early history of aviation, world's time and weather zones, anthems, chance games, etc. Berna Reale has consistently questioned the politics of violence and authority in her native country, as well as geo and biopolitics in general.

The juxtaposition of two different bodies of work, Palomo by Berna Reale, and the series Ventriloquists by Paul Ramirez Jonas, embrace diverse perspectives around the common concept of monument.

In this installation of Cross-Cuts the two most common forms of sculptural monumentality in the Western world are therefore twisted with acerbic wit through ironic and sarcastic criticism.

Recent solo shows include: While You Laugh, at Galeria Nara Roesler (2019), in New York, NY, USA; Festa, at Viaduto das Artes (2019), in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Deformation, at Bergkirche (2017), and Berna Reale – Über uns / About Us, at Kunsthaus (2017), both in Wiesbaden, Germany; Berna Reale: Singing in the Rain, at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMoCA) (2016), in Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Vazio de nós, at Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) (2013), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recent group shows include: 3rd Beijing Photo Biennial (2018), China; 56th Venice Biennale (2015), Italy; Brasile. Il coltello nella carne, at Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea Milano (PAC-Milano) (2018), in Milan, Italy; Video Art in Latin America, II Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA (II PST: LA/LA), at LAXART (2017), in Hollywood, CA, USA; Artistas comprometidos? Talvez, at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (FCG) (2014), in Lisbon, Portugal. Her works are included in important institutional collections, such as: Instituto Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Kunsthaus Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP), São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and JW Collection, Atlanta, GA, USA. 

Paul Ramirez Jonas was born in 1965 in Pomona, CA, USA. He currently lives and works in New York, NY, USA. Recent solo exhibitions include: El Palacio de Cristal, at Museo Jumex (2018), in Mexico City, Mexico; Half-Truths, at New Museum of Contemporary Art (2017), in New York, NY, USA; Atlas, Plural, Monumental, at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) (2017), in Houston, TX, USA, and Public Trust, site-specific in Dudley Square, Kendall Square, and Copley Square, in Boston, MA, USA. He has participated in the 53rd Venice Biennial (2009), Italy ; in the 28th Bienal de São Paulo (2008), Brazil  and in the 7th and 10th editions of the Mercosur Biennial (2009 and 2015), in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Recent group exhibitions include: New Monuments for New Cities, at the High Line (2019), in New York, NY, USA, at Bentway, in Toronto, Canada, at 606, in Chicago, IL, USA, at Waller Creek, in Austin, TX, USA, at Buffalo Bayou, in Houston, TX, USA; Metrópole, at Galeria Nara Roesler (2017), in São Paulo, Brazil; Núcleo Nómada/05 Arte contemporáneo emergente en Honduras, at Centro Cultural de España en Tegucigalpa (CCET) (2015), in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. His works are part of numerous institutional collections, such as: Blanton Museum, Austin, TX, USA; Bronx Museum, New York, NY, USA; Instituto Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden; New Museum, New York, NY, USA.