Pedro Reyes: DIRECT ACTION

SITE Santa Fe presents DIRECT ACTION, a new solo exhibition by Pedro Reyes, from February 3 through May 8, 2023. 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 explores art as activism through a selection of sculptures, prints, performance, and a newly commissioned video work. 

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. 

Central to the exhibition is Palas por Pistolas (2008), a series born from the artist’s work in Culiacán, Mexico, transforming guns into shovels, which were then used to plant over 5,000 trees. Reyes has stated of this project, “This ritual has a purpose of showing how an agent of death can become an agent of life.” Utilizing a similar premise, Reyes’ Disarm (2013) is a series of musical instruments constructed from over 6,700 donated firearms. DIRECT ACTION also includes collaborative projects with other creators in the collective undertaking called Artists Against the Bomb. Building on the artist’s ongoing Anti-Nuclear campaign launched in 2020, SITE Santa Fe commissioned Reyes’ new site-specific video Under the Cloud (2022-23), featuring New Mexico voices addressing the subject of nuclear colonialism. 

This exhibition is also activated by pUN: The People’s United Nations, an experimental conference in which ordinary citizens act as delegates from each of the UN countries and try to apply techniques and resources from social psychology, theater, art, and conflict resolution to geopolitics. 

An audio guide will accompany the exhibition, featuring Pedro Reyes speaking about select works in DIRECT ACTION. Versions will be available in English, Spanish, and ASL. 

DIRECT ACTION is curated by Brandee Caoba. 

About 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.