art installation
Brazilian artist Tunga arrives at MALBA with a powerful installation that connects time, matter, and memory
December 17, 2024 | nadiaevangelina
The exhibition “Tunga. Me, You and the Moon” at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) presents one of the last and most significant works by Brazilian artist Tunga (1952-2016). Curated by María Amalia García and Nancy Rojas, it offers an immersive experience that invites us to reflect on time, nature, and human connections through the artist's poetics.
The central axis of the installation is an imposing fossilized tree trunk weighing more than two tons, whose hollowed-out shape symbolizes temporality and pre-human memory. This element is complemented by various materials such as ceramics, bronze, crystals, and resins, configuring a sensory landscape that alludes to alchemy and the exploration of the unknown. In the space, the visitor is confronted with a visual narrative where opposites -the heavy and the light, the organic and the artificial- converge in a harmonious and fluid unity.
Tunga, known for his interdisciplinary approach that crosses literature, physics, philosophy, and psychoanalysis, enriches this work with the idea of the “energy of conjunction.” This concept suggests that human and material encounters generate new realities, a recurring theme in his artistic production. In addition, the work appeals to the senses by using scents such as amber essence, creating an experience that goes beyond the visual.
The exhibition is completed with a series of drawings by the Tunga Institute, illustrating his quest to represent the continuity of life through dynamic and organic lines. This reinforces the expansive and circular character of the artist's thought, who conceived his work as a ritual in constant transformation.
This installation, previously presented at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, is a testament to Tunga's legacy and his ability to create spaces where perception, matter, and memory intertwine. At MALBA, it becomes a unique experience for the Argentine public, resonating with universal themes such as the link between heaven and earth and the role of art in the reinterpretation of past and present.
The exhibition will be open until February 2025, offering an unmissable opportunity to explore Tunga's artistic universe and his unique way of connecting disciplines and temporalities. 
Tunga, known for his interdisciplinary approach that crosses literature, physics, philosophy, and psychoanalysis, enriches this work with the idea of the “energy of conjunction.” This concept suggests that human and material encounters generate new realities, a recurring theme in his artistic production. In addition, the work appeals to the senses by using scents such as amber essence, creating an experience that goes beyond the visual.
The exhibition is completed with a series of drawings by the Tunga Institute, illustrating his quest to represent the continuity of life through dynamic and organic lines. This reinforces the expansive and circular character of the artist's thought, who conceived his work as a ritual in constant transformation.
This installation, previously presented at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, is a testament to Tunga's legacy and his ability to create spaces where perception, matter, and memory intertwine. At MALBA, it becomes a unique experience for the Argentine public, resonating with universal themes such as the link between heaven and earth and the role of art in the reinterpretation of past and present.
The exhibition will be open until February 2025, offering an unmissable opportunity to explore Tunga's artistic universe and his unique way of connecting disciplines and temporalities.
"Tunga. Me, You and the Moon"
Location: Malba, Junín 1930, Av. Pres. Figueroa Alcorta 3415, C1425CLA CABA, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Opening Date: 25th October 2024
End Date:17th February 2025
Working hours: Wednesday-Monday: 12pm to 8pm
Official website:
Mentioned Artist:
