Hecho en México
Pedro Reyes & Carla Fernández · Pedro Reyes · Carla Fernández
Artist Pedro Reyes and fashion designer Carla Fernández share how they met and discuss their marriage, as well as their mutual love of Mexican craft and design. Though Fernández designs high-end fashion and Reyes is known for his metal and stone sculptures, they both collaborate with artisans to produce their work. “When I started making clothing, I had two choices,” says Fernández. “One was to copy the things that the [indigenous] communities make, …or work together with the communities.”
The design of the couple’s home—an ever-evolving project—is also focused on the handmade. Their bathroom appears both ancient and futurist through the use of cast concrete and carved volcanic stone, and everything from the floor to the furniture was handcrafted. “It makes it in a way, personal, that you know who is making your house,” explains Fernández, “you know who you’re taking care of, or who’s taking care of you.” Fernández also discusses the importance of preserving Mexico’s rich cultural heritage against the homogenizing forces of globalization.
Featured artists
About the artists
Pedro Reyes designs ongoing projects that propose playful solutions to social problems. From turning guns into musical instruments, to hosting a People’s United Nations to address pressing concerns, to offering ecologically-friendly grasshopper burgers from a food cart, Reyes transforms existing problems into ideas for a better world. When encountering a project by the artist, viewers are often enlisted as participants or as creators of objects in collaborative workshops. Originally trained as an architect, Reyes is acutely aware of how people interact with the built environment, with many of the artist’s works taking the form of enclosures.
Carla Fernández was born in 1973 in Saltillo, Mexico, and is based in Mexico City. Drawing inspiration from the geometric shapes of Mexican textiles and patterns, Fernández works closely with communities of indigenous artisans and craftspeople to create her clothing, textiles, and housewares for her eponymous fashion label.
