Artist in Residence

Photographs by Brad Torchia

Earlier this year, Brad Torchia photographed acclaimed artist Pedro Reyes—whose exhibition “Pedro Reyes: Amnesia Atómica” is on view at Museo Anahuacalli in Mexico City—at his home and studio in CDMX. Designed by Reyes and his wife, fashion designer Carla Fernández, the house is a Brutalist-inspired concrete feat of architecture with smooth contours, matte textures, and skylights that harness the sun.

It offered a cinematic backdrop for the portraits, which were not part of a commission or assignment. Instead, they’re the product of Brad’s instinct and curiosity. With this free-spirited approach in mind, we asked Reyes to respond to the images in his own words. —Kristina Feliciano

"Sculpture is a very jealous goddess. She wants you to be by her side all the time."

Pedro Reyes

‘Everything that you own owns you. Physical books demand time. You have to organize them, dust them off.

But the fact that they have to pass through my hands is what brings to me the ideas that I will use in my art.’

"In sculpture and architecture, you read form not through color, but through shadows, and those shadows change depending on the time of the day.

The famous Renaissance story is the art critic Vasari used to say that you should visit a sculpture gallery at night with a candle so you could control the light source and see the many different sculptures that were hidden, that usually are hidden to the eye.’

Brad Torchia is a photographer and director based in Los Angeles. Follow him at @bradtorchia.

Pedro Reyes is an artist whose practice spans sculpture, architecture, video, performance, and performance. He is represented by Lisson Gallery.