Two Prominent Mexican Artists Collaborate For SMOCA Fall Exhibition

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art presents Double Agents: Carla Fernández and Pedro Reyes, a two-part exhibition that envisions an alternative future through distinct artistic practices.

The exhibition features recent works by two of Mexico's most prominent artists who happen to be partners in life. For the first time, the couple collaborates artistically in the form of protest posters, accompanied by individual works of sculpture, video, fashion and photography. Through their varied mediums, both Fernández and Reyes encourage individual agency, believing we all hold the ability to create change in our social, political and personal spheres.

"SMoCA is thrilled to host two leading contemporary artists for a collaboration that activates the galleries, invites audience engagement and promotes discussion around current issues," said SMoCA Acting Director Jennifer McCabe.

Reyes has garnered international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. Through a diverse practice using sculpture, performance, video and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organization to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness and humor.

As part of the exhibition, one of Reyes' recent works will have its western United States premiere: Disarm (Mechanized) (2013), a series of eight instruments built using remnants of weapons collected and destroyed by the Mexican army. Presented with Amendment to the Amendment (2014), a project that invites participants to engage in the radical task of rewriting the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the works have particular resonance in Arizona, which has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country. Originally exhibited as a workshop in Tampa, Florida, following the killing of Trayvon Martin, the second iteration takes place at SMoCA and is accompanied by a customized app that allows gallery visitors to engage in their own rewriting of the amendment.

Fernández works at the forefront of ethical fashion, having developed a design pedagogy that teams with indigenous communities throughout Mexico to keep traditions from extinction and to give artisans a way to make a living from their art.

The exhibition premieres clothing from the Carla Fernández Spring-Summer Collection 2019, inspired by the garments of agricultural workers in Mexico mixed with the factory uniforms from Bauhaus. The new line features imaginative takes on denim and geometric patterns. The clothing is accompanied by sculptures made of dried flowers and seeds by floral designers Alberto Arango and Ramiro Guerrero of Flores Cosmos.

Another collaboration features a series of commissioned photographs by renowned artist Maruch Sántiz Gómez, produced in her hometown of San Juan Chamula in Chiapas, Mexico, an autonomous township with a predominantly indigenous population. A number of videos are on display to convey the distinct handmade processes of the clothing line that claims, "The future is handmade."

In conjunction with this exhibition, the Shop@SMoCA features a curated selection of clothing and accessories by Fernández.

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Carla Fernández (b. 1973, Saltillo) has had solo exhibitions at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; Heath Ceramics, San Francisco; SIFA The O.P.E.N. Festival, Singapore; and collective exhibitions at SITElines Biennial, SITE Santa Fe; MAD Museum, New York; Palacio de Iturbide and Museo Amparo, Mexico City, among others. The brand has been featured in publications such as Elle, Vogue, i-D, *wallpaper, The New York Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. In October 2018, she will present a runway Fashion in Motion at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. She lives and works in Mexico City.

Pedro Reyes (b. 1972, Mexico City) lives and works in Mexico City. He studied architecture at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City. Solo exhibitions include Creative Time, New York (2016); Dallas Contemporary, Texas (2016); La Tallera, Cuernavaca, Mexico (2016); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2015); ICA, Miami (2014); The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada (2014); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2011); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011); CCA Kitakyushu, Japan (2009); Bass Museum, Miami, Florida (2008) and San Francisco Art Institute, (2008). Group exhibitions include 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 (2013); dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany (2012); Liverpool Biennial, United Kingdom (2012); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2012); Lyon Biennale, France (2009); and the 50th Venice Biennale, Italy (2003). In the fall of 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.

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SCOTTSDALE ARTS
Through its partnership with the City of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts (formerly known as Scottsdale Cultural Council) creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through four acclaimed branches - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Arts Education & Outreach - serving more than 400,000 participants annually.

ABOUT SMoCA

Founded in 1999, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) explores the best of contemporary art, architecture and design. Global in its focus, the museum is a unique and vital cultural resource for the Southwest, serving local audiences as well as visitors from the United States and abroad. Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, SMoCA's minimalist building (an ingenious renovation of a former movie theater) has four galleries for showcasing changing exhibitions and works from the museum's collection, along with SMoCA Lounge, a living, functional art installation and space for community engagement. The museum presents a wide variety of educational programs and special events for adults and families, including lectures, readings, performances, docent-led tours, workshops and classes. SMoCA also features an outdoor sculpture garden housing James Turrell's Knight Rise, one of the renowned artist's public skyspaces, and Scrim Wall, a monumental curtain of translucent glass panels by James Carpenter Design Associates. The museum's retail store, Shop@SMoCA, offers classic design objects and furnishings, contemporary jewelry, art and architecture books, and imaginative gifts for all occasions.

VISITOR INFORMATION
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
7374 E. Second St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.SMoCA.org
480-874-4666
SMoCA@ScottsdaleArts.org

HOURS AND ADMISSION
Tuesday-Wednesday, noon-5 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday, noon-9 p.m.
Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and major holidays
Admission: $10 adults, $7 students, free for members and children under 15
Free on Thursdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays