TUNGA
Frieze Masters B02
Regent’s Park, London
October 14 – 18, 2015
Luhring Augustine and Galleria Franco Noero are pleased to present a selection of important early works by the Brazilian artist Tunga. At the core of his complex and diverse practice is what art historian Michael Asbury has described as Tunga’s “desire to uncover the mystical undercurrents of modernity.” Tunga’s emphasis on the narrative potential of objects has led him to forge new territories beyond the physical domain of his sculptures, installations, and performances. It is within this metaphysical space that the artist lays groundwork for his own personal mythology, complete with an array of symbolic imagery and a distinct structural logic.
His interests in science, alchemy, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and poetics culminate in a rich body of work that fervently explores the relationships between language, image, and object. While each piece functions as a discrete entity, collectively they play an integrated role within a larger network of narratives running continuously and in parallel with one another. The ‘torus,’ a ring-shaped motif recurring throughout Tunga’s oeuvre, precisely enacts this unique topology through its associations with cyclicality, timelessness, and the infinite.
In conjunction with the solo presentation of works by Tunga at Frieze Masters, an early performance piece by Tunga, Capillary Xiphopagus Between Us, will be on view as part of Frieze Live.
Tunga is based in Rio de Janeiro and has held major solo exhibitions at museums and institutions throughout the world, such as CCS Bard, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; Musée du Louvre, Paris; Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris; and The Phoenix Art Museum. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art of Los Angeles; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Cisneros Fontanals Foundation (CIFO), Miami; and Instituto de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim, Brumadinho, Brazil.
