2026 Biennial
Juan-Sí González: I.T.I.N.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.S
The images that make up this exhibition capture places that caught the attention of Juan-Sí González during his itinerations along the roads of the American Midwest. At first, taking these photographs served a practical purpose: helping to orient himself in a vast, homogeneous, sprawling territory. Later, González began to observe how physical surroundings condition and are conditioned by the lives of those that inhabit them. His focus turned to documenting deserted spaces that, like abandoned sets, were charged with the vestiges of material culture—desolate places where, despite the absence of people, one could still feel the human presence. In these landscapes—intervened upon, transformed, and abandoned by human beings—we can perceive and interpret aspects of the social imaginary. Signs, buildings, and objects illustrate ways of thinking, being, and inhabiting that have sedimented over time, forming and transforming public spaces. With this series, González investigates the subtle boundary between documentary and fiction, creating a representation of reality that exposes an absurd fiction and, in doing so, further reveals reality. These images serve as metaphors, reinterpreted topographies that are intended to suggest new meanings and call attention to shared physical, ideological, and psychological landscapes.
Related Events
Artist and Curator Talk: Juan-Si Gonzalez and Jorge Rodriguez Diez
September 19, 2026
1:00pm – 4:00pm
Juan-Si and Jorge will discuss the artist’s work and their collaboration on the exhibition, I.T.I.N.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.S, with the backdrop of their journey from Cuba to Ohio and the current events in Havana. The opening reception will offer light bites and refreshments before, during, and after the talks.
Additional Information: Gallery is not wheelchair accessible.
Cincinnati Spotlight Weekend
October 30, 2026
–
Spotlight Weekends highlight FotoFocus Biennial Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the FotoFocus Biennial, exploring art within the communities that create and present it.
Friday, 10/30
- Artist Talk: Marzena Abrahamik, 5pm. BasketShop
- Talk with King Records export Brian Powers, 5:30pm. MOTR Pub
- Artist Talk: Nikita Gross, 7pm. The Lodge KY
- Gallery Talk with Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, 7pm. DAAP Library
Saturday, 10/31
- Cincinnati Bus Tour, 8:30am–4:15pm. Biennial Pass Holders only. Limited capacity
- Artist Talk: Erika NJ Allen, 1pm. Studio Kroner
- Walk-Through Listening and Taste Experience, 1pm. Here and Now
Sunday, 11/1
- In-Depth Multisensory Gallery Walk-Through and Artist Q&A, 12pm. Here and Now
- Reception and Curator’s Talk with William Messer, 5pm. Iris BookCafe and Gallery
Cincinnati Spotlight Weekend
October 31, 2026
–
Spotlight Weekends highlight FotoFocus Biennial Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the FotoFocus Biennial, exploring art within the communities that create and present it.
Friday, 10/30
- Artist Talk: Marzena Abrahamik, 5pm. BasketShop
- Talk with King Records export Brian Powers, 5:30pm. MOTR Pub
- Artist Talk: Nikita Gross, 7pm. The Lodge KY
- Gallery Talk with Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, 7pm. DAAP Library
Saturday, 10/31
- Cincinnati Bus Tour, 8:30am–4:15pm. Biennial Pass Holders only. Limited capacity
- Artist Talk: Erika NJ Allen, 1pm. Studio Kroner
- Walk-Through Listening and Taste Experience, 1pm. Here and Now
Sunday, 11/1
- In-Depth Multisensory Gallery Walk-Through and Artist Q&A, 12pm. Here and Now
- Reception and Curator’s Talk with William Messer, 5pm. Iris BookCafe and Gallery
Cincinnati Bus Tour
October 31, 2026
8:30am – 4:30pm
Spotlight Weekends highlight FotoFocus Biennial Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the FotoFocus Biennial, exploring art within the communities that create and present it.
The Bus Tour is now full. To join the waitlist, please email pass@fotofocus.org.
8:15am Meet at Ziegler Garage
8:30am Depart
9:00am Kennedy Heights Arts Center
Cultural Ties. Celebrates Latin American culture through photography, mixed media, and short films, offering a multi-sensory exploration of place, history, and identity.
Gallery tour led by Mallory Feltz, Director of Exhibitions and Public Art. Artists and film curator Mary Leonard will be in attendance and will discuss their work.
10:00am Eisele Gallery
Waiting to Be Seen. A selection of street photography and photojournalism paying tribute to the diversity of urban life and to the lens-based artists who witness and capture it.
Gallery tour led by Sandy Eichert, curator, and/or David Smith, gallery owner.
10:45am Cincinnati Art Club
Contemporary Tintype Portraits and Altered Historic Images. Tintype portraits by Ricky Willis Tintypes and Blue Creek Tinworks celebrating the local photographic community alongside altered historic images from the Cincinnati Art Club archives.
Curatorial overview provided by Kip Eagen. Artists/studios may also be present to speak about the process and history of tintype photography.
11:30am Lunch @ Swell Art Cafe
12:15pm Wave Pool
Forgetting is Everywhere. Work by four artists exploring transformations both slow and sudden, unexpected but also predestined. Presented in conjunction with Swell.
Gallery tour led by curator Calcagno Cullen.
1:00pm Studio Kroner
Erika NJ Allen: Beneath All Distance. Investigates deep time, material memory, and humanity’s relationship to landscapes shaped by endurance and change through analog photography and ceramics.
Open gallery roaming and artist talk with Erika NJ Allen. Paul Kroner will also be on site.
1:45pm Art Academy of Cincinnati
Depth of Field. An open call highlighting student artists considering the present state of photography and its possible future directions.
Noel Bassam Mohammad Maghathe: Over Everything. Examines how memory is shaped, altered, and reconstructed through the act of retrieval, initiating a dialogue between longing, connection, and memory.
Untwined/Interwoven. Reflects on concepts of place and time, examining the ephemeral, impermanent, and fragmented nature of photography.
Accra Shepp: Bearing Witness. Presents three bodies of work—Occupying Wall Street, The Covid Journals, and The Islands of New York—that delve into subjects often overlooked or intentionally misconstrued.
Gallery talks led by Michael Hurst, Director of Exhibitions; Rachel Reisert, Head of Photography; and student curators.
3:00pm Taft Museum of Art
Edie McKee Harper: Modernist at Play. Over 100 works across a variety of media, including photography, demonstrate the artist’s distinctive modernist vision, highlighting her minimalist and often playful style.
Introduction by Curator Tamera Lenz Muente followed by a self-guided tour.
3:45pm Annex Gallery
Juan-Sí González: I.T.I.N.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.S. Explores the boundary between documentary and fiction, reinterpreting reality as metaphor and calling attention to shared physical, ideological, and psychological landscapes.
Artist talk with Juan-Sí González. Jorge Rodríguez Diez, Executive Director and Chief Curator, and Jens Rosenkrantz may also be on site.
4:15pm Depart Annex Gallery. Bus returns to Ziegler Garage on Sycamore Street.
Access to the entire FotoFocus Biennial Program is only one benefit of being a FotoFocus 2022 Biennial Passport holder. GET THE PASSPORT for free entry and exclusive events!
Cincinnati Spotlight Weekend
November 1, 2026
–
Spotlight Weekends highlight FotoFocus Biennial Venues within specific geographic locations where artists and curators will be on site for talks, tours, special events, and featured programming. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the FotoFocus Biennial, exploring art within the communities that create and present it.
Friday, 10/30
- Artist Talk: Marzena Abrahamik, 5pm. BasketShop
- Talk with King Records export Brian Powers, 5:30pm. MOTR Pub
- Artist Talk: Nikita Gross, 7pm. The Lodge KY
- Gallery Talk with Dr. Theresa Leininger-Miller, 7pm. DAAP Library
Saturday, 10/31
- Cincinnati Bus Tour, 8:30am–4:15pm. Biennial Pass Holders only. Limited capacity
- Artist Talk: Erika NJ Allen, 1pm. Studio Kroner
- Walk-Through Listening and Taste Experience, 1pm. Here and Now
Sunday, 11/1
- In-Depth Multisensory Gallery Walk-Through and Artist Q&A, 12pm. Here and Now
- Reception and Curator’s Talk with William Messer, 5pm. Iris BookCafe and Gallery
Juan-Sí González, Tools, from Saving my Words, n.d. Photograph on Luster paper, 18 × 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist
Juan-Sí González, detail from Mental Landscapes, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist
Juan-Sí González, detail from Mental Landscapes, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist
2026 Biennial
Venue Details
The Annex Gallery
1310 Pendleton St
The Annex Building
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 407-7077
Wed–Sat 11:30am–4pm
Free to the Public
Nearby Venues
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