Ryan McGinness "Equo ne Credite, Teucri" ("Do not trust the horse, Trojans!")

The World is Round features new commissions and recent works by Jacob Dyrenforth, Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Chris Hanson & Hendrika Sonnenberg, Matt Johnson, and Ryan McGinness, all of whom have created works that explore collective consciousness and expression. Although the artists work in a variety of media and thematic areas, their practices are all linked by an interest in shared languages and systems, whether personal or political, formal or informal.

New York-based artist McGinness utilizes the authoritative and universal visual language of corporate logos and public signage to create lively, iconic artwork. Noting that "logos create perceived value," McGinness recycles certain motifs, incorporating myriad pop cultural and art historical references as well as anonymous graphic forms and ornamental embellishment to create a dazzling visual system of his own making.

McGinness's installation, Equo ne Credite, Teucri ("Do not trust the horse, Trojans!"), comprises a set of signs placed throughout the MetroTech Commons. They play off of the way signage employs simple pictograms to convey information to a wide cross section of the public. Upon first glance, the signs appear to be officially issued, since their colors and finish are in keeping with other fixtures in the area. However, they are actually a series of eye-catching but cryptic images imbued with personal meaning. With its title—a reference to the ancient priest Laocoön's attempt to warn the Trojans against letting the Greeks' gift inside city walls, described in The Aeneid by the epic poet Virgil—McGinness warns viewers of his attempt to subvert the public environment with his cooptation of mainstream communication strategies.

Artist Bio
McGinness was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1972, and received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University (1994). He has exhibited his work in numerous solo exhibitions including Never Odd or Even at Paolo Curti / Annamaria Gambuzzi & Co., Milan and Vous Etes Ici, Amsterdam (2006); Galeria Moriarty, Madrid (2006); and Installationview, Deitch Projects, New York (2005).

Sponsorship
The World Is Round at MetroTech Center is part of an ongoing program organized by the Public Art Fund and sponsored by MetroTech Commons Associates, an organization that consists of MetroTech companies Bear Stearns & Company, Forest City Ratner Companies, JPMorganChase, KeySpan, and Polytechnic University.

Special thanks to Forest City Ratner Companies and First New York Partners.

Location
MetroTech Center is located in Downtown Brooklyn between Jay Street and Flatbush Avenue at Myrtle Avenue. Viewing hours are dawn to dusk daily for outdoor works, Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm for Jacob Dyrenforth's installation in the lobby of One MetroTech. Subway: A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall, exit at Myrtle Promenade; R to Lawrence Street; Q to Dekalb Avenue.

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