Uruguayan artist, Pedro Tyler lives and works in Santiago, Chile

Uruguayan artist Pedro Tyler uses measuring systems to represent the western notion of rational thought.  He first began incorporating and manipulating rulers for his work in 2000. Creating structures and objects from rulers of varied materials—wood, metal, and plastic—Tyler questions the security we gain from measurement and precision.

Tyler studied art at Finis Terrae University in Santiago de Chile, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture in 2001.  He makes work that explores literature and philosophy, pulling at “the tension between measure and freedom, between permanent and ephemeral…” Tyler is concerned with his own, and our collective uncertainty—in his work, he suggests that although rationalism provides a sense of structure, the world is ultimately irrational and immeasurable. In his first solo exhibition at Sicardi Gallery, Not Space Nor Time in 2012, Tyler included a poignant series of portraits; made by engraving on wooden rulers, the resulting portraits hauntingly depicted the faces of philosophers, writers, and artists who had committed suicide. Knives and scissors have provided a leitmotif for his work: Tyler returns frequently to the idea of cutting and shaping, as a way of making meaning.

Tyler’s works are represented in several major collections including the Juan Manuel Blanes Museum, Montevideo, Uruguay; the Contemporary Arts Space of the Uruguayan Ministry of Education and Culture, Montevideo, Uruguay; the Museum of Contemporary Art of Santa Crus de la Sierra, Santa Crus de la Sierra, Bolivia. He has had solo exhibitions at Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Museo de Arte del Tolima, Colombia, among other spaces.

Tyler lives and works in Santiago, Chile.