The artistic practice of Tunga (Antônio José de Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourão) moves freely through an array of disciplines, such as sculpture, drawing, performance, installation, poetry, and video, transgressing borders not only in the scope of artistic expression but also in relation to other human practices, from science and alchemy to ancestral rites. One of the most powerful and influential artists of his generation, he has developed, over 40 years, an integrated body of work that is characterized by an associative interpenetration —such as mirroring and self-reference— between individual pieces. Organic elements and morphological shapes move, and are fluidly drawn between abstraction and figuration, engulfing themselves in the deeper layers of human sensory experience, ranging from unconscious sexual symbolism to the transformation of matter into spirit. 

With a degree in Architecture from the Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tunga founded in the 1970s, alongside the artists Cildo Meireles, Waltercio Caldas, and José Resende, the magazine Malasartes and the short-lived journal A Parte do Fogo. The artist has held solo exhibitions at important institutions such as: Collegium, Arévalo, Spain (2026); Lisson Gallery, London, UK (2025); Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence, France (2024); Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires – MALBA, Argentina (2024); Instituto Ling, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2024); Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo – MAM São Paulo, Brazil (2023); Itaú Cultural and Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil (2022); MASP, São Paulo, Brazil (2017); Center d’Art et de la Nature, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France (2015); MoMa PS1, New York, USA (2008); Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (2005); Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France (2001); Phoenix Art Museum, USA (1998); Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, USA (1997); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA; Kanaal Art Foundation, Kortrijk, Belgium; Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (1989); and MAM Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1974). In 2012, Instituto Inhotim, at Brumadinho, Brazil, inaugurated a second pavilion dedicated to his work. 

Tunga has participated in numerous group exhibitions and Biennials around the world, including: Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil (2023 e 2018); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland (2017); Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2018, 2013, 1998, 1994, 1987, and 1981); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (2001); Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (2001); Biennale de Lyon, France (2000); Mercosur Biennial, Porto Alegre, Brazil (1999); Documenta X, Kassel, Germany (1997); Bienal de la Habana, Cuba (1994); MoMA, New York, USA (1993); Ludwig Museum, Köln, Germany  (1993); Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France (1992); Kanaal Foundation, Wijnegem, Belgium; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1989); Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan (1985); and Venice Biennale, Italy (1982). 

His work is part of collections such as the Centre Pompidou, France; Château la Coste, France; Instituto Inhotim, Brazil; MAM São Paulo, Brazil; MASP, Brazil; MoMA, USA; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain; Peggy Guggenheim, Italy;  Pérez Art Museum Miami – PAMM, USA; Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil; Guggenheim Museum, USA; Tate Modern, UK; MOCA, Los Angeles, USA; among others. 

Instituto Tunga