BRIGHTON.- Brighton CCA is presenting Duplex an exhibition of new works by Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha curated in collaboration with Jenni Lomax. This is the artist’s first solo presentation in a UK public institution for 10 years.

Duplex is an articulation of da Cunha’s engagement with cultures of consumption, reuse, materiality and art history. Central to da Cunha’s practice is the ready-made and specifically, how perceptions of objects are affected by place, time and the results of labour. Da Cunha’s complex and subtle process of transforming materials and images create encounters with everyday objects that disentangle the instinctive responses inherent to particular materials, endowing the works with alternative modes of understanding; so cotton becomes marble, mops become tapestry, construction tools become mysterious relics and mundane objects echo art historical precedents. The result is a vibrant dialogue about the history and function of symbols and material in society, from park benches and umbrellas to cement mixers and beach towels.

The presentation echoes the form of a processional route through the galleries, so visitors encounter objects and motifs presented and revisited much as the artist approaches objects and materials in his work. In this respect the exhibition speaks to its location; resonating with connections to a familiar past. Visible from the gallery windows is Brighton’s North Gate, a stone arch built for the royal procession to pass through at the opening of the Brighton Pavilion, while each year the Brighton Pride march – the largest in country – also passes in front of the gallery windows. Duplex engages with these histories as movements through time and culture of the city; reappropriating old signifiers and embracing a more contingent, yet confident present.

Alexandre da Cunha is a Brazilian-born artist (1969) who lives and works in São Paulo and London. He received his MA from the Chelsea College of Art, London, England in 2000 and also studied at the Royal College of Art, London, England, 1999. He is represented by Thomas Dane Gallery. Recent solo exhibitions include Laissez Faire, Camden Arts Centre, London, England 2009, Dublê, CCSP – Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil 2011, Kentucky Pied de Poule, CRG Gallery, New York, USA 2012, Plaza Project, MCA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA 2015, Everyday Poetics, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA 2017. His work is held in a major public collections including the TATE, Zabludowicz Collection, Ellipse Foundation Contemporary Art Collection, Centro de Arte Contempoarnea de Inhotim Brazil and Laumeier Sculpture Park USA. Art on the Underground have commissioned artist Alexandre da Cunha to create a permanent artwork for the Northern Line Extension. Da Cunha’s work will be installed at the new Underground station at Battersea Power Station, due to open in autumn 2021.