Artists

Tunga

Press release

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.

The 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.