Pedro Reyes
Exhibition views of ‘Pedro Reyes’ at Lisson, Gallery New York, 11 September – 18 October 2025 © Pedro Reyes, Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new work by acclaimed artist Pedro Reyes, marking a significant evolution in his sculptural practice. Bringing together monumental stone works and, for the first time, a suite of wall-based mosaics, the exhibition transforms the gallery into a sculptural forest—a landscape of myth, material, and movement.
Pedro Reyes Citlallo, 2025 Mosaic 46.4 x 29.2 x 3.8 cm 18 1/4 x 11 1/2 x 1 1/2 in © Pedro Reyes, Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Rooted in Mesoamerican cosmology, Reyes’ formal syntax draws deeply from his own heritage. His forms echo the traditions of Mexica and Olmec carving, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens that also recalls the synthesis of Art Deco and modern abstraction. By weaving together these distinct visual territories, Reyes explores how sculpture can serve as a vessel of memory, a bridge between the ancient and the contemporary, and a medium for cultural resilience and renewal.
Exhibition views of ‘Pedro Reyes’ at Lisson, Gallery New York, 11 September – 18 October 2025 © Pedro Reyes, Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Alongside his distinctively abstract, totemic sculptural forms, a new series of evocative animal figures—jaguar, coyote, monkey, and axolotl—emerge, each rendered with a restrained precision that bridges ancient symbolism and a contemporary visual language. This synthesis is particularly evident in Coyotl (2025), where the sharp, geometric lines along the figure’s neck and tail reflect both formal clarity and cultural resonance. The work pays homage to Coyoacán—meaning “the place of the coyotes” in Nahuatl—the Mexico City neighborhood where Reyes has his home and studio. As the artist notes, “Often described as a creature between a dog and a wolf, the coyote plays the role of a trickster spirit in pre-Columbian mythology. It also serves as a symbol of earthly wisdom because of its astute nature.”
Pedro Reyes Tepantitla, 2025 Volcanic stone 250 x 98 x 62.5 cm 98 3/8 x 38 5/8 x 24 5/8 in © Pedro Reyes, Courtesy Lisson Gallery
At the heart of the exhibition is a newly developed body of stone mosaics. Smaller in scale and intricately composed, these works introduce a refined and rhythmic counterpoint to the larger stone sculptures. Composed of tesserae made from volcanic stone, marble, glass, silver, and gold, the mosaics radiate with vibrant color and material richness, underscoring their importance as conceptual anchors within the exhibition. Reyes’ mosaics act as portals—offering moments of reflection and pause within the broader sculptural landscape. This new direction in his practice brings heightened attention to pattern, detail, and material intimacy while maintaining the thematic depth that defines his work.
The exhibition also encourages spatial navigation and sensory engagement. As visitors move through the space, the artworks shift in form and meaning, offering changing perspectives and intimate encounters with surface, scale, and silhouette. Rather than isolated displays, the sculptures inhabit a shared environment, inviting viewers into a tactile, narrative-rich journey.
Pedro Reyes Cozamalotl, 2025 Mosaic 46.4 x 29.2 x 3.8 cm 18 1/4 x 11 1/2 x 1 1/2 in © Pedro Reyes, Courtesy Lisson Gallery
Whether monumental or intimate, animal or abstract, Reyes’ forms resonate with symbolic weight and formal clarity, inviting viewers into a space where the boundaries between past and present, myth and matter, are fluid and alive.
About the artist
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’ 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).
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 Museo Anahuacalli, Mexico City, Mexico (2024); SITE Santa Fe, NM, USA (2023); MARTa Herford, Herford, Germany (2022); MARCO, 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 The Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico (2023); Museo Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico (2021); the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA (2018); 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.
About Lisson Gallery
Lisson Gallery is one of the most influential and longest-running international contemporary art galleries in the world. Today the gallery supports and promotes the work of more than 60 international artists across spaces in London, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Beijing. Established in1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, Lisson Gallery pioneered the early careers of important Minimal and Conceptual artists, such as Art & Language, Carl Andre, Daniel Buren, Donald Judd, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long and Robert Ryman among many others. It still works with many of these artists as well as others of that generation from Carmen Herrera to the renowned estate of Leon Polk Smith. In its second decade the gallery introduced significant British sculptors to the public for the first time, including Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Anish Kapoor, Shirazeh Houshiary and Julian Opie. Since 2000, the gallery has gone on to represent many more leading international artists such as Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, John Akomfrah, Susan Hiller, Tatsuo Miyajima and Sean Scully. It is also responsible for raising the international profile of a younger generation of artists led by Cory Arcangel, Ryan Gander, Van Hanos, Hugh Hayden, Haroon Mirza, Laure Prouvost, Pedro Reyes, Wael Shawky and Cheyney Thompson.
The exhibition opened on 11 September and will run through 18 October 2025 at the 504 West 24th Street location.
For more information about this exhibition and others, please visit the Lisson Gallery here. The gallery can also be found on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
