SOCIAL JUSTICE, ACTIVISM AND SOLUTIONS THROUGH ART

Nodding at forms of protest in which individuals use their own power to achieve political and social aims rather than appealing to authorities, this expansive exhibition is dedicated to pursue the transformation power art can have.

Pedro Reyes is celebrated for his large-scale immersive sculptural projects addressing current social and political issues. Over the course of his career, Reyes has developed and designed projects that propose playful solutions to social problems through a variety of media and an open invitation for community engagement. The history of architecture and craft, as well as the intersection of art and political action, are recurring themes of his work.

“Sculpture is about changing the shape of a material, and in social sculpture, the materials are the ideas and relationships of a community. The show is called DIRECT ACTION because it is a participatory process, and the subject of disarmament across the exhibition inevitably leads to the history of nuclear warfare and uranium mining, which has been a constant struggle in the history of New Mexico,” says artist Pedro Reyes.

Pedro Reyes (Mexico City, 1972) studied architecture but considers himself a sculptor. His works integrate elements of theater, psychology, and activism and take a variety of forms, including penetrable sculptures as well as puppet productions. He is the recipient of the U.S. State Department Medal for the Arts, a Ford Foundation Fellow, and was commissioned by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists together with ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish nuclear weapons, winners of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, to raise awareness of the growing risk of nuclear conflict.