October 8 –  November 8, 2016

Opening Reception: October 8, 4 – 6 pm

featuring impromptu readings of Jenny Holzer’s Truisms in collaboration with The Reading Room

Painted Words Speak Loud is inspired by current socio-political tensions and a landscape dotted by political and consumer ads via billboards and yard signage. 

 Our visual space is disrupted by billboards that advertise car accident lawyers, casinos, strip clubs, and every other commodity as well as yard signs that identify political leanings.  These objects affect how we engage with our landscape, often in an adverse way. Bombarded with printed matter, language becomes mutated and little more than an advertising tool. We often tune it out, but it remains in our subconscious, permeating our perceptions of the world. This exhibition, which features artists who work within various forms of text and language, explores an alternative to the typical signage we encounter in our every day.

 Serving as a kind of antidote to valueless rhetoric, Terrain Dallas has invited artists to respond to the title, Painted Words Speak Loud, in their creation of a yard sign that will be installed on the front lawn. Remaining true to their particular style and conceptual framework, each artist transforms the function and aesthetics of traditional signage.  The resulting works fight back against the invasion of meaningless language on our physical, psychological and cultural space.  

 As a whole, the installation encourages viewers to consider how signage affects our perceptions of the landscape and how the painted word can inspire a positive dialogue in an increasingly turbulent society.  

 Artists included in the exhibition:

Brennen Bechtol, Rebecca Carter, Arturo Donjuan, Will Heron, Jin-Ya Huang, Mylan Nguyen, Ryan Rushing, Andrea Tosten, and Giovanni Valderas

Additional programming made possible through a collaboration with MAP 2016: Use Your Voice and Sunset Art Studios.  

October 15, 12 – 2 pm

Show Your Sign: Make Peace with Words 

Drop in sign making for promoting peace in your neighborhood, presented by Iris Bechtol

Sunset Art Studios

1811 Balboa Place, Dallas, TX 75224

October 16, 10 – 11 am

Peace Meditation and Exercise led by Janeil Engelstad

Terrain Dallas

1122 Elmdale Pl, Dallas, TX 75224