Lisson Gallery is pleased to announce its first exhibition of works by the multidisciplinary artist Tunga (1952-2016), whose estate has been represented by the gallery since September 2024. Internationally recognised as one of the most important Brazilian artists of his generation, the exhibition marks the first time Tunga’s work will be shown in London since 2018 when Tate Modern staged one of his legendary performances, Xifópagas Capilares Entre Nós (Capillary Xiphopagus Among Us). Acclaimed primarily for his precisely constructed sculptures informed by alchemy and mythology, Tunga drew attention to the psychological potential of three-dimensional objects which he first started to produce in the 1970s using materials such as iron chains, nylon mesh, lamps and rubber.
Read moreThe exhibition highlights ten sculptures spanning the years 2004 to 2014 — a pivotal period during which Tunga continued to experiment with increasingly diverse materials such as bottles, crystals, portals, teeth and tripods. While the artist’s earlier compositions often consisted of one or two elements, such as a braid made from wire, or felt joined together with cotton cord and nails, these later works reveal Tunga’s propensity for producing more corporeal forms that incorporate multiple components, and which balance density with ephemerality.
Four critical series are introduced by the exhibition. The earliest work from Fração de Luz (Fraction of Light) (1981-2010) is included — a sleek structure that draws on the physical mechanisms of a marionette and its relationship with the puppeteer that controls it. Hooked onto a black nail on the wall is a multipart metal cord from which long black hair has been suspended. Accompanying this work is Untitled (2008) which acts as the exhibition’s centrepiece. Consisting of a substantial cast aluminium weight hanging in mid-air beside a translucent fabric curtain which falls to the ground, this large-scale installation uses the dynamics of such hoisted positionings to reinforce the illusions at play when a puppet is in motion, its liveliness dependent on human intervention that is out of sight.
Three works from Phanógrafo Policromático de Deposição (Polychromatic Deposition Phanograph) (2004-2009) highlight the artist’s impulse for exploring how materials might energetically relate or otherwise remain distinct from one another. Attached to the wall, these compact wooden boxes, once opened from each side, reveal a scene resembling an alchemical experiment. Internally lined with embossed white fabric, the centre of these mysterious containers holds a glass flask filled with coloured liquid held in place by an armature of metal and resin. Mirrors are another feature of these cabinet-like constructions, which continue to obscure the limits between what is real and what could be imagined.
The series Estojo (Case) (2008-2012) is represented by two iterations. These dark and diminutive iron containers were recognised by Tunga as portals that could convey their unique landscapes through a concoction of earthly materials such as crystal quartz and iron which the artist filled to the brim within each square unit. Magnets are another core element here — a later addition to the artist’s visual language that allowed him to communicate further ideas relating to invisible forces and the transmission of energies.
With the most recent body of work in the exhibition (Morfológicas) (Morphologicals) (2014), Tunga turned his attention to abstract depictions of human anatomy using archetypal sculptural mediums such as bronze and clay. Revealing classical tendencies in their form and composition, these sensual objects allude to the body’s physicality as well as its connection with the earthly realm.
