The Art Newspaper

Inhotim art park opens new pavilion in time for São Paulo biennial

Installation includes six major works by Brazilian artist Tunga acquired by mining billionaire Bernardo Paz’s institute

By Gareth Harris. Web only
Published online: 06 September 2012

Tunga's A la Lumière des Deux Mondes installed at Inhotim (Photo: Daniela Paoliello)

The Inhotim Institute, the vast art park founded by the mining billionaire Bernardo Paz in a remote part of southeast Brazil, is due to launch a pavilion Thursday (6 September) dedicated to the works of the established Brazilian artist Tunga.

The 2,600 sq. m gallery is due to house six major installations acquired in the past ten years; these include A la Lumière des Deux Mondes (at the light of both worlds) which was shown at the Louvre in Paris in 2006 beneath the museum’s glass pyramid and at MoMA PS1 in New York in 2007. The sculptural installation comprises gold and black skulls, along with a giant walking stick, suspended on a central pivot.

Other pieces on display include a recent version of a 1989 work, Lezart, made of copper plates and magnets, which evokes the tale of Siamese twins who are joined by the hair. A 1980s film installation, Ao, depicts a tunnel filled with the sound of Frank Sinatra singing.

In addition, the artist has created a series of five performances to mark the opening of the pavilion: one work, entitled Teresa, was previously seen in Los Angeles, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, where 100 ex-prisoners and homeless men, along with entwined rope-like sculptures, featured in the piece; in Brazil, gardeners from the Inhotim complex will instead participate. Tunga says that his performance art is “a poetic way of experiencing everyday aspects. But my reality is made up of things that are not always visible [in daily life].”

More than 20 contemporary art pavilions dedicated to artists such as Matthew Barney and Doug Aitken are dotted around the botanical gardens of the Inhotim Institute.

Major works by Tunga were acquire by the institute in the past ten years (Photo: Daniela Paoliello)