Jorge Méndez Blake:

Project for a Park Library (Aerial View Large)

Jorge Méndez Blake: Project for a Park Library (Aerial View Large) presented a single work by the artist that occupied the entire gallery space. Stretching across the walls, the large vinyl print explores how a library might be reconceived as a park. The work evokes imagined landscapes of mountains, lakes, parks, and oceans. Walls of bookcases formed the thin white lines dividing the different parts of the park. Brought together and arranged like an unfolded piece of origami paper, these elements of a library help to suggest a lush landscape. The work attempts to jettison the knowledge contained within the library so that it becomes more available and less privileged. The idea of culture acting as an agent of democracy is at the heart of this project.

Jorge Méndez Blake was born in 1974 in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he currently lives and works. He has been the subject of solo presentations at Meessen De Clercq, Brussels; Museum of Latin American Art, Los Angeles; and Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City.