Pilar Zeta (born June 15, 1986) is an Argentine multimedia artist based in Mexico City. She is known for her large-scale public artworks, monumental sculptures and immersive installations. They are inspired by themes such as philosophy, mathematics and mysticism, with visuals informed by architecture, surrealism and postmodernism. Zeta regularly employs "portals, thresholds and archetypal geometries, especially the egg",[1] to explore the interaction between space, form and observation.
She was influenced by her family to pursue art, fashion and music, becoming self-taught in Corel Draw and Photoshop. Her professional career as a graphic designer started after she moved to the United States. In 2009, Zeta relocated to Berlin and engaged in art direction at Berghain. This was followed by commercial projects including Coldplay's Everyday Life (2019), which received a nomination for Best Recording Package at the Grammy Awards. In the 2020s, her practice shifted towards fine art works.
Life and career
Early years
Pilar Zeta was born on June 15, 1986, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[2] She began drawing and painting at six years old.[3] Her early years were marked by regular visits to art museums with her father,[3] as well as metaphysical and paranormal ideas introduced by her mother, a ballet dancer.[4] Zeta mentioned that these influences have fostered a sensitivity to color, symbolism and visual structure which heavily inspired her work.[3] Another source of creativity was a record collection owned by her brother; she would investigate album covers from bands such as Pink Floyd, the Alan Parsons Project and Led Zeppelin to learn about image composition and its relationship with sound.[4] Zeta also dressed herself from a young age and fashioned custom clothes at 13 years old.[2] In her teenage years, she embraced graphic design softwares including Corel Draw and Photoshop.[2]
Breakthrough
She was fully trained in them by the end of high school, shaping a hybrid technique between analog and digital craft.[2] At the age of 19, the artist moved to the United States, entering her professional life without formal college education.[4] In 2009, Zeta relocated to Berlin, created album covers for the electronic music scene and undertook a period of art direction at Berghain.[5] Over the following years, her practice expanded across fine art and digital media.[5] In 2015, she met Coldplay manager Phil Harvey, leading her to design the artwork for A Head Full of Dreams.[5] She contributed to subsequent albums as well, receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Recording Package with Everyday Life (2019).[6] Outside the band and her independent practice, Zeta has partnered with musicians for projects such as Camila Cabello's "Don't Go Yet" (2021), which won a Clio Award.[7]
Public art and installations
The Observer Effect (2025) being displayed at Art Basel in Miami
In 2021, Zeta presented Hall of Visions during the Miami Art Week at the Faena Hotel.[8] Conceived as an immersive architectural structure accessible to the public, the project was installed directly on the beach.[9] It also featured a cracked egg sculpture inside, evoking "a moment of renaissance and realization".[10]Deepak Chopra led a guided meditation at the installation to underline its function as a shared experiential environment.[11] Zeta returned the following year with Future Transmutation (2022),[12] a monochromatic setup dedicated to mathematical and symbolic systems, transforming her exhibition grounds into a space defined by "proportion, repetition and perception".[12]
The artist later revealed Doors of Perception (2023) at the Zona Maco fair in Mexico City.[13] It consisted of large-scale marble structures that she envisioned as points of passage, emphasizing material weight and scale.[14] Zeta also employed smooth surfaces and soft textures at the installation, which was exposed next to "rough and organically shaped" rock sculptures from Andrés Monnier.[14] That same year, Zeta placed her Mirror Gate setup at the foot of the Giza Pyramids for the Forever Is Now exhibit.[15] She built the piece with limestone, stainless steel, car paint, marble and fiberglass.[15] Its purpose was to bridge past, present and future using architecture.[15]
In 2025, Zeta attended Miami Art Week again, launching The Observer Effect at Art Basel.[16] The installation showcased iridescent metallic portals along the shoreline,[16] reacting to light, weather, tidal movement and the presence of the viewer.[17] She was inspired by the relationship between observation and outcome seen in quantum physics, exploring the idea of science as a "spatial experience".[2]Laraaji was responsible for activating the project through ambient music performances at sunrise and sunset.[18] News and culture publications such as Axios,[19]Dezeen,[20] and Miami Herald praised her work and highlighted it among the best of the event.[21] During an interview with Artnet, Zeta revealed that her next piece will be a continuation of the Mirror Gate sculpture, being installed at the Place du Louvre in Paris to "advance her exploration of thresholds, reflection and civic space".[2]
Influences
Mirror Gate (2023) being displayed near the Giza Pyramids in Cairo
In addition to public artworks, installations and sculptures, Zeta maintains studio practices in Mexico City with a multidisciplinary team.[24] She prioritizes digital composition through graphic design softwares and AI-assisted image generation, since they feel "comfortable and free when it's time to create".[25] Other methods include drawing and scanning her own art, collecting flea market photos, repurposing books for collages and producing shapes and textures.[3] This combined approach allowed her to design oil paintings, tapestries, sculptural objects and furniture that introduce the element of human imperfection.[24]
After releasing her debut album, Moments of Reality (2018), the artist stated that her musical style was shaped by an obsession with postmodern furniture: "I was trying to redecorate my house while we were doing the music. All these lines crossed, and after a while, we just had all the songs for the album, and making the artwork was just so easy because it was part of it".[26] The record has been described as an experimental,[27]new-age piece.[28] Zeta co-wrote and co-produced it with Jimmy Edgar, citing Haruomi Hosono and Art of Noise as further inspirations.[26] The album was a key component of her broader vision, which aims to integrate art, music and fashion into a cohesive, unified aesthetic.[26]
↑"Pilar Zeta: Between Portals". Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. May 16, 2025. Archived from the original on December 14, 2025. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
12"Pilar Zeta. Transmutación Futura"[Pilar Zeta. Future Transmutation]. Vanidad (in Spanish). November 28, 2022. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Doors of Perception (2023) at distance
Portal del Eter Rojo (2025) at distance
The Observer Effect (2025) at distance
The Observer Effect (2025) up-close
