Jason Mena
San Juan, PR, 1974
Biography Details
Photographer, draftsman, and video installation artist. Studied at Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, in San Juan, where he obtained a BA in Painting. He was co-founder of =DESTO, an artist run space located in Santurce, Puerto Rico which was active from 2005 until 2008. He also has been the recipient of several prizes, grants, and awards, such as the Award from the International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter in 2006, Lexus Grant for the Arts in 2008, and in 2011 the Special Prize from International Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, Italy, among others. He has shown his work in various solo and group exhibitions at events in Puerto Rico, the United States, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Europe and Israel. He currently resides in Mexico where he teaches at Centro ADM - Programa Integral de Estudios en Fotografía. His work explores the relationships and dialogues between architectural spaces (abandoned or in full use and the individual) both, from an existentialist point of view and from a spatial one, and his honest interest for social justice and his intelligent criticism of the blatant lies of capitalism, consumerism and the false expectations they create in our poor or middle class people.
Artist Statement
Jason Mena explores the contradictions that exist within social formations, their visible and latent tendencies in both everyday life and the broader economic structure, believing in art’s potential to strengthen and sharpen the political consciousness of individuals.
Formation
Education
2006
- Bachelors Degree of Painting. Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Profesional Experience
2014
- Professor. Centro ADM, Programa Integral de Estudios en Fotografía, Mexico City, Mexico
2011
- Artist Residence. Hotel Charleroi, B.P.S.22 Contemporary Art Centre, Belgium
- Artistic Residence. Centro ADM , Mexico City, Mexico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2011
- Lights out for the territory, Galería ADM , Mexico City, Mexico
2010
- We all shall play in the ruins, Gallería Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain
2009
- A visual representation through the exploration of sound, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2014
- Universos Paralelos, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
- Turn on the bright lights, Hessel Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Universos Paralelos, Galería Francisco Oller and Galería Bellas Artes 209, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Suprema Felicidad, Casa del Lago, Mexico City, Mexico
2013
- Dos artistas residentes y uno invitado, [R.A.T.] Puerto Turín, Residencias Artísticas Por Intercambio, Mexico City, Mexico
- Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected, Georgia College Museum, Georgia, United States
- (Paréntesis), Galería Luis Adelantado, Mexico City, Mexico
2012
- Los irrespetuosos/ The disrespectful/ Die respektlosen, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico
- Wherever You Roam, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, United States
- West 21st Street Drive-In (Leave Your Car at Home), Family Business Gallery, Chelsea, New York, United States
- Micro Archivos, Museo Ex-Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Mexico
- 3ra Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected, Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2011
- Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected, The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, New York, United States
- The Dialectic City [Document|Context], Laboratorio de Artes Binarios, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arte en el medio: 35 años de fotografía en Puerto Rico, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Carry-On: Puerto Rico Inspected, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- SF Tropical, Queens Nails Projects, San Francisco California, United States
- Nuestro Negocio es la Cooperación: Boricuas Bestiales, La Ene- Nuevo Museo Energía de Arte Contemporáneo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- An Exchange with Sol LeWitt, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts, United States
- Arte Laguna 5th International Art Prize Finalists Collective Exhibition, Nappe Arsenale, Venice, Italy
2010
- We Have As Much Time As It Take, Logan Galleries, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco, California, United States
2009
- Muestra Nacional de Arte, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Inaugural Exhibition, Galería Luis Adelantado, Mexico City, Mexico
- Zombie: A Mindless Affair, Antena, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2008
- It’s Not Easy, What Does Green Mean To You?, Exit Art, New York, United States
- Being There, Universidad Acción Pro-Educación y Cultura, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2007
- Photoimagen, The City, District & Co. Gallery, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- VI Salón de Dibujo, Arte Arawak Foundation, Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana
- The New Media Festival 2nd Edition, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami, Florida, United States
- River's Edge Film Festival, Maiden Alley Cinema, Paducah, Kentucky, United States
- BLOG, Galería Candela, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006
- Temporary Cities, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia
- Attitude, Cultural Center Magaza, Bitola, Macedonia
- Voxumenta, Vox Populi Gallery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
2005
- =DESTO, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- State of Emergent, Sin Título Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2012
- Grant and Scholarship. Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States
2011
- Special Prize. Arte Laguna 5th International Art Prize, Venice, Italy
2008
- Grant. Beca Lexus para Artistas, San Juan Puerto Rico
2007
- Honorable Mention. VI Salón de Dibujo Arawak Art Foundation, Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2006
- Award. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- Travel Grant. Escuela de Artes Plásticas Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2002
- Grant. Arnaldo Roche Rabell Foundation, San Juan Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Catalogues
We have as much time as it takes (2010), CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco, California, Estados Unidos.
Universos paralelos: Transvergencias fotográficas entre España y Puerto Rico.
Universidad de Puerto Rico & Universidad de Salamanca. Primera Edición, 2014. pp.95.
Books
Nogueras, Celina. Frescos: 50 artistas puertorriqueños menores de 35. San Juan, PR: Muuaaa, 2010. pp. 350.
Libro de Artista, Part of "Universal" a site specific installation for the exhibition Turn on the bright lights. Nueva York, Estados Unidos: Hessel Museum of Art, 2014.
Newspapers
González Pérez, Leyra. “Trío de Miradas”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 9 de julio de 2009, pp.66-67.
González Pérez, Leyra. “Retrato del Pasado”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 3 de octubre de 200, pp. 64-65.
Rodríguez Saavedra, Dalila. “Galería Sin Espacio”. Primera Hora (San Juan, PR), 10 de abril de 2008, pp.74.
García Benítez, Mariana. “¿Cuál es el Mainstream?”. Diálogo (San Juan, PR), Febrero-Marzo 2009, pp.18.
González Pérez, Leyra. “Asalto a la Publicidad”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 13 de mayo de 2009, pp.70-71.
Vega Calles, María. “Impulso a tres artistas”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan PR), 22 de mayo de 2008, pp.65.
“Inician búsqueda de Artistas emergentes”. El Vocero (San Juan, PR), 3 de abril de 2010, pp.42.
El Vocero (San Juan, PR), 14 de mayo de 2009, pp38.
Magazines
Acevedo, Carla. Branding Ideologies. Small Axe A Caribbean Platform For Criticism. 2009.
Dolce Stil Criollo. An interstitial journal of the americas. Vol. 1, 2013.
On Error. Perspecta 46 The Yale Architectural Journal. MIT Press. 2013.
Weinstein, Joel. ArtNexus. =DESTO, una buena señal. No.68, Vol.7, 2008. pp.108.
Álvarez Lezama, Manuel. Postmodern Surrealist Scenarios. Wynwood Art Magazine. No.1, Vol.8, April 2008, p.42.
Robinson, Walter. Puerto Rican Sun. Artnet Magazine. April 14, 2008.
Web
Intervening artists. Artseen Journal Italy, Journal 7: Microcosm. 2007. Los Irrespetuosos / The Disrespectful / die Respektlosen. Art Agenda (Nueva York, EEUU) 2013. http://art-agenda.com/shows/the-disrespectful-at-museo-de-arte-carrillo-...
Acevedo-Yates, Carla. The Dialectic City: Document, Context at Laboratorio de Artes Binarios. 2012. DaWire. http://dawire.com/2012/01/23/the-dialectic-city-document-context-at-labo...
Un espacio de producción, presentación y acción. Adaptive Actions. Campo AA, Madrid. 2009. www.adaptiveactions.net