07/10/2026
Pepe Lopez, The Good Old Days, The Good Old Days, 2017
A set of 11 folding lounge chairs, made of aluminum frames and brightly woven nylon straps, The Past Was Always Betterdraws directly from the bold geometric patterns of Venezuelan Constructivist Alejandro Otero’s Orthogonal collages. The chairs—familiar, vibrant, deceptively cheerful—are transformed into sculptural echoes of a fading ideal.
They evoke the golden era of mid-20th century Venezuela, a time when oil wealth and progressive politics fueled one of Latin America’s most ambitious modernist cultural projects. Museums were built, artists flourished, and design—like democracy—seemed to promise a radiant future. But the country, flush with fortune, chose to sit back. And sit it did—until the moment passed.
Pepe López Reus is a multidisciplinary artist whose work delves into the complexities of identity, memory, and social transformation. Through a blend of sculpture, performance, installation, and photography, López examines pressing societal issues such as consumerism, violence, and the alienation inherent in modern life. Central to his practice is the reimagining of everyday materials—particularly urban remnants like discarded plastics and packaging—which he transforms into powerful, poetic objects that speak to themes of cultural displacement and individual reinvention. Over the years, López has exhibited internationally in renowned venues such as the Havana Biennial, Mercosul Biennial, New Territories at MAD Museum in New York, Albuquerque Museum, Amparo Museum in Mexico, and The Unknown and its Poetics at Kino Saito, 2025. Lines and Stones, Toluca Fine Art, Paris, France; Labor and Materials, 21C Museum, Kansas City, USA; Bearers of Meaning, Cisneros Collection; Broken Idols, Maële Gallery, Paris; La Colonie, Paris; His work has garnered critical acclaim, including the Best Solo Show award from AICA Venezuela and a prestigious UNESCO Aschberg Artist Residency, El Espacio 23 in Miami and Kino Saito in New York.
Photos by Julio Osorio