Celebrated for his large-scale, immersive sculptural projects addressing current social and political issues, Mexican artist Pedro Reyes’ work follows a double path: art as aesthetic research and art as social practice. Over the course of his career, Reyes has developed and designed projects proposing playful solutions to social problems through a variety of media, with an open invitation for community engagement. His practice creates space to reflect, learn, listen and grow.

The title of the exhibition, DIRECT ACTION, applies to both the concepts of sculpture and activism. Sculpture changes the shape of matter by applying force to alter its form. In the case of activism, direct action is defined as a form of protest that utilizes direct, often physical action to achieve political and social aims, rather than appealing to a higher authority for legitimacy. Examples of nonviolent direct action include sit-ins, strikes and protests. This strategy has been used by legendary activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and, more recently, Occupy Wall Street, Standing Rock and Black Lives Matter. Direct action has taught us that love, curiosity, compassion and resistance are powerful energies of possibility and change.

DIRECT ACTION explores recurring points of inspiration in Reyes’ practice: the legacy of architecture and craft, sculpture and social activism. Through this lens, direct action manifests as formal, social and relational sculpture. Reyes invites visitors to participate, becoming agents within the works.

Centered on a constellation of artworks about disarmament, the exhibition is anchored by Palas por Pistolas, 2008; Disarm, 2013-2020; and ZERO NUKES, 2023, a grouping of works calling attention to the rising threat of nuclear destruction, which includes a newly commissioned video shot in New Mexico.

DIRECT ACTION offers space for visitors to access and research information on the many ideas, strategies and projects presented in the exhibition. This involves Reyes’ ongoing social experiment, Tlacuilo, a lending library based on the philosophy that books are meant to be used and shared.

Accompanying this exhibition is SITE Santa Fe’s Billboard Project, a collaborative project supported by Estudio Pedro Reyes and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The billboards feature a selection of works from Artists Against the Bomb, a collaborative project focused on the growing threat of atomic destruction. The billboards are positioned on the west side of SITE Santa Fe’s building and are on view throughout the duration of the show.

DIRECT ACTION is curated by Brandee Caoba.

Thank You!

Support for DIRECT ACTION is generously provided by:

SITE Santa Fe Board of Directors, SITE Santa Fe Annual Exhibition Fund, Anonymous,

Cornelia Bryer and Herman Siegelaar, Mary Cardas and Les Edelberg, Tracy and Rob Donnell, Susan Emerling and Tommy Torres, and Cindy Miscikowski.