Art Gallery of Mississauga presents Tropicana: Opening Reception

The Art Gallery of Mississauga is pleased to announce its newest exhibition, Tropicana, featuring the vibrant and insightful artwork of Costa-Rican, Montreal-based artist Juan Ortiz-Apuy.

This youth-geared exhibition, designed for kids and teenagers aged 6 to 14, will be on display from July 8 to September 3, 2023. All are welcome to attend a family-friendly opening reception on Saturday, July 8, 2023 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm to celebrate the launch of this exciting exhibition. The artist will be in attendance.

When confronting the environmental crisis, in which the unbridled production of goods threatens the diversity of the natural world, it’s essential that we take an interest in how things are displayed, commercialized, and consumed, whether in brick-and-mortar store windows or online.

Tropicana casts a critical eye on modern consumer society and advertising aimed at children, which often features animals, colours, sounds, and shapes designed to appeal to them. Juan Ortiz-Apuy has created a visual and sound environment allowing visitors to explore the language of advertising and its ability to act on us, in sometimes unexpected ways. The artist based his research on new marketing strategies that have emerged in the social media era, i.e., the phenomenon of “unboxing” and ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos. A considered investigation into the world of objects, this exhibition seeks to examine the way we consume today—always with a touch of humour—the better to understand its future impacts. Presented at the Art Gallery of Mississauga, which is situated next to Ontario’s largest shopping centre, this exhibition holds a special resonance.

Tropicana was produced by VOX, centre de l’image contemporaine with financial support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Funding for the Art Gallery of Mississauga is generously provided by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Rama Gaming House and Charitable Gaming, and Community Good.

Photo credit: Juan Ortiz-Apuy, Tropicana, 2020. still (detail), video. Courtesy of the artist.