Tunga - Jose de Barros Carvalho e Mello - Brazylian Conceptual Artist
«Brazilian artist Tunga, born Jose de Barros Carvalho e Mello, was a talented and eclectic creator who worked in sculpture, installation, photography, poetry, and video. His large-scale installations and sculptures were always capable of transforming galleries and museums into dreamlike environments thanks to the most versatile materials such as plastic, thread, and recycled objects. Even though his process was materially intensive, Tunga’s practice was also clearly conceptual. His works are intellectually puzzling, they resist certainty and confuse the audience. For instance, in his piece from 2007 entitled At the Light of Both Worlds from 2007, Tunga hung from a gallery ceiling a massive assemblage of bones and bronze replicas of classical art – this outstanding work is a unique commentary on the intrinsic balance between life and death.»
