Lisson Gallery

Pedro Reyes

Pedro Reyes has won international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. Through a varied practice utilising sculpture, performance, video, and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organisation to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humour. A socio-political critique of contemporary gun culture is addressed in Reyes’s ongoing Palas por Pistolas, in which the artist worked with local authorities in Culiacán, Mexico, to melt down guns into shovels, then used to plant trees in cities elsewhere in the world. Similarly, in Reyes’ major continuing Disarm series, firearms confiscated by the Mexican government and donated to Reyes have been transformed into instruments, which are then activated by local musicians. Issues of community and compassion are addressed in Sanatorium, activated at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (2011), dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel, Germany (2012), The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2013) and at The Power Plant in Toronto and The Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami (2014). In this work, visitors are invited to sign up for a ‘temporary clinic,’ with the mission of treating various kinds of urban malaise. His immersive exhibition Doomocracy, organised by Creative Time at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, was a ‘political house of horrors’ marking the confluence of two events haunting the American cultural imagination at the time: Halloween and the 2016 US presidential election. Most recently, Reyes has worked with The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and ICAN to stage anti-nuclear protests and performances across the world. Titled, Amnesia Atómica ZERO NUKES, this movement has found platforms in New York; Mexico City; Vienna and Oslo. Alongside these performative, socially engaged strands of his practice, Reyes continues to make sculpture. Carved in red and black volcanic stone, marble and jadeite, these often monumental works that weave between figuration and abstraction reference sources as diverse as Greco Roman statuary; British Modernism and Mesoamerican sculpture.

Reyes (b. 1972, Mexico City) lives and works in Mexico City. He studied architecture at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City. Solo exhibitions have been held with SITE Santa Fe, NM, USA (2023); MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany (2022); Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico (2022); MAAT, Lisbon, Portugal (2021); Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland (2020); SCAD, Georgia, USA (2019); Creative Time, New York, USA (2016); Dallas Contemporary, TX, USA (2016); La Tallera, Cuernavaca, Mexico (2016); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2015); ICA, Miami, FL, USA (2014); The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada (2014); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA (2011); Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA (2011); CCA Kitakyushu, Japan (2009); Bass Museum, Miami, FL, USA (2008;) and San Francisco Art Institute, CA, USA (2008). Reyes has participated in group exhibitions at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan (2015); The National Museum of XXI Century Arts (MAXXI), Rome (2015); Beijing Biennale, China (2014); Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (2013); dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany (2012); Liverpool Biennial, UK (2012); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012); Lyon Biennale, France (2009); and the 50th Venice Biennale, Italy (2003). In Fall 2016, Reyes served as the inaugural Dasha Zhukova Distinguished Visiting Artist at MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Current and recent projects: 

'DIRECT ACTION', SITE Santa Fe, NM, USA, 3 February - 1 May 2023

 

 

Totem (Huehueteotl)

Pedro Reyes
Totem (Huehueteotl)

2021
Tezontle stone 230 x 75 x 70 cm / 90 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 27 1/2 in

Citlali

Pedro Reyes
Citlali

2021
Volcanic stone 85 x 96 x 49 cm / 33 3/8 x 37 3/4 x 19 1/4 in

Tetla

Pedro Reyes
Tetla

2021
Acrylic on amate paper

Cosmos

Pedro Reyes
Cosmos

2020
Volcanic Stone 284 x 87 x 87 cm / 111 3/4 x 34 1/4 x 34 1/4 in

Rotoid

Pedro Reyes
Rotoid

2020
Brown Tezontle 90 x 90 x 53 cm / 35 3/8 x 35 3/8 x 20 3/4 in

Pliegue

Pedro Reyes
Pliegue

2019
Carrara marble 60 x 22 x 28 cm / 23 1/2 x 8 5/8 x 11 in

Scribe

Pedro Reyes
Scribe

2019
Volcanic stone 71 x 44 x 78 cm / 27 7/8 x 17 1/4 x 30 5/8 in

Seated Figure

Pedro Reyes
Seated Figure

2018
Marble 55 x 75 x 89 cm / 21 5/8 x 29 1/2 x 35 in

Seer

Pedro Reyes
Seer

2018
Volcanic stone 65 x 74 x 52 cm / 25 5/8 x 29 1/8 x 20 1/2 in

Jaguar

Pedro Reyes
Jaguar

2018
Volcanic stone 64 x 71 x 43 cm / 25 1/4 x 28 x 16 7/8 in

Spiral Nude

Pedro Reyes
Spiral Nude

2018
Bronze 70 x 103 x 45 cm / 27 1/2 x 40 1/2 x 17 3/4 in

Lithophone (Hexatonal)

Pedro Reyes
Lithophone (Hexatonal)

2018
Black Marble 110 x 35 x 29 cm / 43 1/4 x 13 3/4 x 11 3/8 in

Infinity Chair

Pedro Reyes
Infinity Chair

2018
White Marble 85 x 200 x 95 cm / 33 3/8 x 78 5/8 x 37 3/8 in

Versus Machina

Pedro Reyes
Versus Machina

2018
Bronze 154 x 119 x 90 cm / 60 5/8 x 46 7/8 x 35 3/8 in

Double Helix

Pedro Reyes
Double Helix

2018
Bronze 72 x 72 x 78 cm / 28 1/4 x 28 1/4 x 30 5/8 in ed. 2 of 5 + 2 APs

Protester III

Pedro Reyes
Protester III

2018
Bronze 120 x 50 x 36 cm / 47 1/4 x 19 5/8 x 14 1/8 in

Codex (Red)

Pedro Reyes
Codex (Red)

2018
Concrete 119 x 117 x 10 cm / 46 3/4 x 46 x 3 7/8 in

Machinic Phylum I

Pedro Reyes
Machinic Phylum I

2017
Concrete and steel 53 x 67 x 12 cm / 20 7/8 x 26 3/8 x 4 3/4in

Machinic Phylum II

Pedro Reyes
Machinic Phylum II

2017
Concrete and steel 71 x 54 x 12 cm / 28 x 21 1/4 x 4 3/4 in

Sunstone

Pedro Reyes
Sunstone

2016
White onyx 80 x 27 x 25 cm / 31 1/2 x 10 5/8 x 9 7/8 in.

Totem

Pedro Reyes
Totem

2015
Volcanic stone 227 x 91 x 109.5 cm / 89 3/8 x 35 7/8 x 43 1/8 in.

Visual Bibliography IV (Notes on non-violence)

Pedro Reyes
Visual Bibliography IV (Notes on non-violence)

2015
Mixed media on stretched canvas 150 x 150 cm / 59 1/8 x 59 1/8 in.

Navaja Suiza VII (Swiss Army Knife VII)

Pedro Reyes
Navaja Suiza VII (Swiss Army Knife VII)

2014
Mixed media sculpture 100 x 46 x 17 cm / 39 3/8 x 18 1/8 x 6 11/16 in.

Head of Karl Marx II

Pedro Reyes
Head of Karl Marx II

2014
Volcanic stone 48 x 77 x 71 cm / 18 7/8 x 30 5/16 x 27 15/16 in. Base: 85 x 75 x 75 cm / 33 7/16 x 29 1/2 x 29 1/2 in.

Colloquium (Ironism)

Pedro Reyes
Colloquium (Ironism)

2014
Marble 240 x 220 x 180 cm / 94 1/2 x 86 5/8 x 70 7/8 in.

Disarm: Installation view, Lisson Gallery, London

Pedro Reyes
Disarm: Installation view, Lisson Gallery, London

2013
Installation view

Disarm: Installation view, Lisson Gallery, London

Pedro Reyes
Disarm: Installation view, Lisson Gallery, London

2013
Installation view

Disarm LP

Pedro Reyes
Disarm LP

LP record

Disarm (Trigger Puller)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Trigger Puller)

2013
Metal 118 x 170 x 170 cm / 46 7/16 x 66 15/16 x 66 15/16 in.

Disarm (Xylophone)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Xylophone)

2013
Metal 43 x 35 x 30 cm / 16 15/16 x 13 3/4 x 11 13/16 in.

Disarm (Kalashniclock)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Kalashniclock)

2013
Metal 110 x 115 x 115 cm / 43 5/16 x 45 1/4 x 45 1/4 in.

Disarm, (Violin III)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm, (Violin III)

2013
Metal Approx. dimensions: 67 x 23 x 13 cm / 26 3/8 x 9 1/16 x 5 1/8 in.

Disarm (Psaltery)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Psaltery)

2013
Recycled metal 32 x 89 x 24 cm / 12 5/8 x 35 1/16 x 9 7/16 in.

Disarm (Psaltery)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Psaltery)

2013
Recycled metal 32 x 89 x 24 cm / 12 5/8 x 35 1/16 x 9 7/16 in.

Disarm (Pan pipes)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Pan pipes)

2013
Metal 18 x 21 x 15 cm / 7 1/16 x 8 1/4 x 5 15/16 in.

Disarm (Mechanized)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Mechanized)

2012
Recycled Metal Installation comprising of 8 mechanised instruments Dimensions variable

Disarm (Wind Chime)

Pedro Reyes
Disarm (Wind Chime)

2013
Metal 166 x 65 x 65 cm / 65 3/8 x 25 9/16 x 25 9/16 in.

Melodrama and Other Games

Pedro Reyes
Melodrama and Other Games

2012
Group activities, posters Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and FACT

Pico della Mirandola

Pedro Reyes
Pico della Mirandola

2012
-

Machine Music (Tank 2)

Pedro Reyes
Machine Music (Tank 2)

2013
Photographic print on canvas and collage 191 x 95 cm / 75 3/16 x 37 3/8 in.

Machine Music (Decoy)

Pedro Reyes
Machine Music (Decoy)

2013
Photographic print on canvas and collage 124 x 94 cm / 48 13/16 x 37 in.

Machine Music (Tank 9)

Pedro Reyes
Machine Music (Tank 9)

2013
Photographic print on canvas on wood 113 x 110 cm / 44 1/2 x 43 5/16 in.

Machine Music (Tank 8)

Pedro Reyes
Machine Music (Tank 8)

2013
Photographic print on canvas and collage 105.5 x 210.5 cm / 41 9/16 x 82 7/8 in.

Imagine (Guitar)

Pedro Reyes
Imagine (Guitar)

2012
Recycled Metal 77 x 27 x 10 cm / 30 5/16 x 10 5/8 x 3 15/16 in.

Imagine (Guitar)

Pedro Reyes
Imagine (Guitar)

2012
Recycled Metal 77 x 27 x 10 cm / 30 5/16 x 10 5/8 x 3 15/16 in.

Sanatorium

Pedro Reyes
Sanatorium

2011- present
Group activity, props, relational objects

Imagine (Rain Stick)

Pedro Reyes
Imagine (Rain Stick)

2012
Recycled Metal 90 x 15 x 20 cm / 35 7/16 x 5 15/16 x 7 7/8 in.

Imagine (Tubular Bells)

Pedro Reyes
Imagine (Tubular Bells)

2012
Recycled Metal 197 x 160 x 30 cm / 77 9/16 x 63 x 11 13/16 in.

Baby Marx

Pedro Reyes
Baby Marx

2008
Wooden puppets, library set, video production Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Capula Expanded Dodecahedron

Pedro Reyes
Capula Expanded Dodecahedron

2009 - 2010
Stainless steel frame woven in vynil cord

Palas por Pistolas (Guns for Shovels)

Pedro Reyes
Palas por Pistolas (Guns for Shovels)

2007 - present
Installation view at Biennale de Lyon, 2009 1,527 collected guns melted into steel to fabricate 1,527 shovels, to plant 1,527 trees. Artwork © Pedro Reyes. Photo by Stéphane Rambaud, Courtesy of Biennale de Lyon.

Philosophical Casino II

Pedro Reyes
Philosophical Casino II

2008
Corian 72 x 51 x 52 cm / 28 3/8 x 20 1/16 x 20 1/2 in.

Ciclomóvil

Pedro Reyes
Ciclomóvil

2007-2009
Aluminium, mechanical parts

Casino Filosófico

Pedro Reyes
Casino Filosófico

2006
Corian structure

Exhibitions

  1. Pedro Reyes

    Pedro Reyes

    24 June – 1 September 2023

  2. Pedro Reyes: Pohua

    Pedro Reyes: Pohua

    28 July – 14 August 2022

  3. Pavilions

    Pavilions

    14 January – 12 February 2022

  4. Pedro Reyes: Tlali

    Pedro Reyes: Tlali

    6 May – 18 June 2021

  5. Horizon

    Horizon

    6 October – 31 October 2020

  6. Pedro Reyes: Glyptotek

    Pedro Reyes: Glyptotek

    2 March – 21 April 2018

  7. Pedro Reyes

    Pedro Reyes

    28 February – 15 April 2017

  8. Pedro Reyes: Statues

    Pedro Reyes: Statues

    28 May – 18 July 2014

  9. Pedro Reyes: Disarm

    Pedro Reyes: Disarm

    27 March – 4 May 2013

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