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Alexandre da Cunha (born 1969) is a Brazilian-British artist, who produces sculpture and wall mounted works, often using found objects. His works have been exhibited around the world, and are located in several major public collections.


Biography

Alexandre da Cunha was born in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...
in 1969. After initial studies at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in Brazil, da Cunha moved to the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, studying sculpture at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...
before moving to the
Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educati ...
. Since his studies, da Cunha lives and works in both
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. In the early 1990s, da Cunha began working with
Galeria Luisa Strina Galeria Luisa Strina is an art gallery founded by art collector Luisa Malzone Strina. The main gallery and its annex are located in São Paulo, Brasil. It is the oldest art gallery of contemporary art in Brazil. History The gallery opened in 1 ...
, the oldest contemporary art gallery in Brazil - with his first solo exhibition taking place in 1998. In his work, da Cunha mixes the use of found, mass produced and 'ready made' objects with 'traditional' sculpture - by repurposing and reusing them. In 2006, he stated that the items that he uses often have no monetary value, describing them as "things I found on the streets ... ready for the garbage can". For example, the 2004 work ''Skateboarderistismatronics (fan)'' is made of recycled skateboards - da Cunha stated that the old skateboards are worthless, but nevertheless they have "huge personal value" to the skaters themselves. Despite the variety in the size of his works - from a small sculpture to a concrete mixer - the aesthetic of the artwork is balanced against the social and cultural history of the materials that the work is made from. His works are inspired by the Neo-Concrete Brazilian art movement of the late 1950s,
Op art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, ...
, well as modernist architecture found in major Brazilian cities. da Cunha also frequently uses the stereotypes of national identity, such as flags and iconography in his work.
Frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
states da Cunha's "historical lineage" includes classical sculpture, baroque patterns,
Primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...
, Arte Povera, and Brazilian Modernism. In the late 2010s, da Cunha was commissioned by Art on the Underground to create a public artwork for the new Northern line extension to Battersea. His work at
Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC ...
- ''Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset'' - is a 100-metre-long kinetic sculpture, using the technology of a rotating billboard. As the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
meant that the 2020 New Contemporaries exhibition could not take place, da Cunha and artists Anthea Hamilton and
Linder Linder may refer to: Places *Linder (river), Bavaria, Germany * Linder Peak, Antarctica * Linder Glacier, Antarctica *Linder Township, Greene County, Illinois People Surname *Alex Linder (born 1966), founder of Vanguard News Network * Allan Linde ...
selected works for an online exhibition.


Exhibitions

Da Cunha has exhibited works at a variety of solo and group exhibitions across the world since the 2000s. Solo exhibitions have included: * ''Duplex'',
Brighton CCA The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
, Brighton, England (2021) * ''Duologue with Phillip King,'' Royal Society of Sculptors, London, England (2018) * ''Mornings,'' Office Baroque,
Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
(2017) * ''Free Fall,'' Thomas Dane Gallery, London, England (2016) * ''Homebodies'',
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
,
Chicago, United States (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
(2015) * ''Dublê,'' , São Paulo, Brazil (2011) * ''Laissez-Faire,'' Camden Arts Centre, London, England (2009)


Collections

*
Tate Collection Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
and
Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corpo ...
*
Zabludowicz Collection Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz (born 6 April 1953) is a Finnish-born British billionaire businessman, art collector and philanthropist.Midgley, Dominic (5 March 2010)"FINN CITY..." ''Highbeam Business'' (London). Retrieved 23 June 2013. Early life a ...
*
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contempora ...
*
Laumeier Sculpture Park Laumeier Sculpture Park is a 105-acre open-air museum and sculpture park located in Sunset Hills, Missouri, near St. Louis and is maintained in partnership with St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department. It houses over 60 outdoor sculpt ...
*


Public artworks

* ''Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset'', Battersea Power Station tube station, London * ''Mix'',
Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
Building, London * ''Plaza (Arcade)'', Fenway, Boston, United States * ''Mix II,'' Rochaverá Corporate Towers, São Paulo


Publications

* ''Alexandre da Cunha: Arena'' (2020, Thomas Dane Gallery; ) * ''Alexandre da Cunha: Monumento'' (2019, Revolver; ) * ''Drawing Room Confessions: Alexandre da Cunha'' (2015, Drawing Room Confessions; ) * ''Alexandre da Cunha'' (2012, Editora Cobogó, )


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:da Cunha, Alexandre 1969 births Brazilian sculptors Artists from Rio de Janeiro (city) Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Brazilian contemporary artists British contemporary artists Living people 21st-century artists 20th-century sculptors