Alexandre da Cunha presents Mix II

Da Cunha has described his practice not as ‘making’ but as ‘pointing’. Pointing at existing objects in our everyday surroundings, and highlighting or revealing new and unexpected facets or meanings within them. This approach has allowed him to unpick our preconceptions and instinctive responses to things and shift our perspective to new ways of seeing and understanding, giving way to a lush potential, not only in interpreting his work, but also in everything we subsequently see around us in the world.

Mix II is Da Cunha’s first large scale public commission in Sao Paulo, for this work he used the drum of a concrete mixer truck and cast concrete as his materials.  The drum is treated and then placed on a concrete plinth. The materials/object traditionally used in the making process of public buildings now become objects to be looked at for their own form. These materials are especially significant in Brazil and to Da Cunha where concrete has played such a significant role both in art and architecture. The drum has been sand blasted and then treated with resin.  This process gives the surface of the work a shiny reflective quality that mirrors the lights of the surrounding buildings. The drum sits on top of a cast concrete plinth, Da Cunha plays with size and function again here with the plinth, traditionally a plinth is merely a support to an art works but here it is an integral part of the work.  The plinth is of equal size to the drum giving it equal presence to the object it supports.  The plinth is made of two cuboid forms that make seats for members of the public to use.

Da Cunha was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1969 and lives and works in London. He has exhibited widely throughout the Americas and Europe and is included in major collections around the world including Tate (UK) and Inhotim (BR). He is one of the artists included in the current touring British Art Show. He is also currently undertaking various public and private commissions both in UK and abroad.

Alexandre da Cunha /Mix II

Rochaverá Corporate Towers

Av. Dr. Chucri Zaidan, 1170

São Paulo, BR