‘Under Pressure” at Tomás Redrado Art Explores Material and Memory

Installation view of “Under Pressure,” curated by Tomás Redrado, featuring works by Guadalupe Reyna, Kristin Reger, and Tali Halpern at Tomás Redrado Art in Miami. The exhibition is on view through Wednesday, Aug. 5. (Photo by Evelyn Sosa, courtesy of Tomás Redrado Art)

The first impression of “Under Pressure” at Tomás Redrado Art is not one of visual excess but of restraint. The gallery is remarkably spare, allowing each work by Guadalupe Reyna, Tali Halpern, and Kristin Reger to occupy its own physical and emotional space. Rather than competing for attention, the three artists establish distinct rhythms that gradually begin to converse with one another.

Although they work in very different media—encaustic painting, textile, and sculpture—the exhibition finds common ground in the way each artist transforms everyday materials into something contemplative. Wax, thread, fabric, wire and stretched forms all become vehicles for exploring memory, resilience and personal experience.

Reyna’s encaustic paintings possess an unusual luminosity. Built through repeated applications of beeswax and pigment, the surfaces appear to glow from within, revealing evidence of the artist’s hand beneath translucent layers. Rather than depicting literal narratives, the paintings suggest cycles of preservation and change, where each layer simultaneously conceals and reveals those beneath it. The rich reds and earthy tones evoke organic forms without becoming descriptive, their shifting textures unfolding over time.

A suspended sculptural installation by Kristin Reger shares gallery space with a textile work by Tali Halpern in “Under Pressure,” an exhibition exploring transformation through sculpture, fiber and encaustic painting. (Photo by Evelyn Sosa, courtesy of Tomás Redrado Art)

Across the gallery, Halpern’s textile works introduce a very different tempo. Dense with embroidery, beadwork and stitched fragments, the compositions reward close viewing. Bits of language, images and decorative elements emerge gradually from the fabric, creating visual diaries assembled through countless hours of handwork. While some references draw from contemporary culture and personal identity, the works never feel illustrative. Instead, they communicate through accumulation, allowing meaning to emerge slowly through repeated looking.

Reger’s suspended sculptures activate the gallery in an entirely different way. Thin cables stretch across corners and walls, supporting delicate biomorphic forms that appear almost weightless. Their balance feels precarious without becoming unstable, creating a dynamic relationship between the sculptures and the surrounding space. Empty space becomes an active component of the exhibition, with distance, gravity and tension shaping the installation.

One of the exhibition’s strengths is its pacing. Redrado resists overcrowding the gallery, allowing generous intervals between works. That openness gives each artist room to establish an independent voice while revealing subtle connections across the exhibition. Themes of transformation, vulnerability and endurance emerge naturally through the materials rather than being explicitly stated.

“Under Pressure” greets visitors at the entrance to Tomás Redrado Art, setting the tone for an exhibition centered on material transformation, resilience, and the physical traces of lived experience. (Photo by Evelyn Sosa, courtesy of Tomás Redrado Art)

Despite the exhibition’s title, “Under Pressure” does not dwell on anxiety. Instead, it considers pressure as a creative force—one capable of altering wax through heat, tightening thread through repeated stitching, or pulling sculptural forms into delicate balance. The works suggest that change is rarely effortless, yet they also demonstrate the surprising resilience of materials subjected to sustained care and attention.

The result is a thoughtful group exhibition that rewards patience. Rather than delivering immediate answers, “Under Pressure” unfolds gradually, finding extraordinary emotional weight in ordinary materials. 

WHAT:  “Under Pressure”

WHERE: Tomás Redrado Art, 1015 NW 23rd St., Unit 2, Miami

WHEN: 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and by appointment. Through Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.

COST: Free

INFORMATION: (305) 774-7740 and tomasredradoart.com 

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