What does a house symbolise? A haven, a dream, or a space brimming with secrets? Juana García-Pozuelo’s work invites us to reflect on this ambiguity and on the way architecture influences and shape our collective imagination.

For over twenty years, the artist has explored the place of the home in popular culture, examining its role as both comforting and disquieting.

During her one-month residency at Le Jardin des Métiers d’Art et du Design (JAD) in Sèvres (Île-de-France) as part of an exchange with BilbaoArte, Juana García-Pozuelo continues her research on the mythologies associated with American vernacular architecture and its impact on our collective imagination.

Her project Pequeños crímenes sin importancia (Petty crimes of no importance) focuses on the aesthetics of suburban houses, so frequently portrayed in cinema. Behind their familiar appearance, her paintings reveal an unsettling atmosphere, where the mundane cloaks the mysterious. For her, monstrosity is not always gaudy or spectacular: it seeps quietly into the everyday.

During her residency at the JAD, the artist delves further into her research by exploring dioramas and miniatures as new narrative tools. This experimental project allows her to give a tangible dimension to her paintings, creating models inspired by the houses she depicts.

Juana García-Pozuelo (Logroño, 1978) is a visual artist based in Bilbao since 1996. She holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country and is studying a Master’s in Art Creation and Research at the same university. She has built on her studies at international institutions such as the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Summer School of Fine Art in Salzburg.

Since 2001, she has been developing a figurative pictorial style focused on various conceptual themes. Her artwork has been shown at twelve solo exhibitions in galleries and institutions around Spain, and she has also taken part in numerous collective exhibitions.