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CARLOS BUNGA Intuición

February – April 2018

“Let us look closely at this shadow.” Henri Bergson

At one point in his late work The Creative Mind (La Pensée et la Mouvant, 1934), the philosopher Henri Bergson discusses the color

orange. Bergson points out that our rational knowledge of that particular color tells us (not incorrectly) that it is a blend or compound

of the colors red and yellow. But, he says, even if we were not privy to that information, even if we had never even seen red or yellow

on their own, we still might be able to grasp orange’s relationship to its neighbors on the color spectrum’s continuum through the use

of what Bergson calls philosophical intuition, a kind of non-analytic leap of the understanding that transcends the strict limits of

rationality and information. The implications for Bergson go beyond the color chart: when successfully employed, the tool of such

intuition can afford us access to the myriad, elusive continuities that surround us and of which we too form part — in other words, to

nothing less than the “eternity of life.” Orange, indeed.

Carlos Bunga, in his current exhibition Intuición (the title in partial reference to Bergson) at the Galería Elba Benítez, explores similar

concerns, and in particular the delicate relationship, often fraught yet potentially enriching, between intuitive perception and rational

analysis. The exhibition consists of a series of new works by Bunga, all conceived specifically for the gallery’s spaces. As is

characteristic of Bunga’s practice, color is a central component of the works’ power (including an intense saffron orange,) as is the

tactile presence of the artist’s signature, povera-style materials, such as cardboard, packing tape and house-paint. Also in keeping

with Bunga’s established working methods is the interaction between the objects and the architectural elements of the gallery, with

works created in situ and at times encrusted or painted onto the gallery’s walls and floors.

In Intuición, however, Bunga maintains these signature methods and materials but effects a subtle shift of emphasis, here

orchestrating the visual and spatial fields that emanate from the objects themselves so as to create permeable and immersive

experiences. In other words, these works are not only to be seen, but also to be entered, in some cases on a literal and tactile level —

as in the large floor-work that is the exhibition’s centerpiece, which viewers are invited to traverse — as well as on the less tangible

but not less real levels of reflections, textures and even ambient sounds that course through the spaces of the gallery.

San Lorenzo, 11 - 28004 Madrid +34 91 308 0468 info@elbabenitez.com elbabenitez.com

Intuition thus harnesses intuition in two senses. On the one hand, Bunga’s in situ creations inevitably entail a degree of improvisation,

and thus a conventional but essential form of creative ‘intuition’ — a working method of which he has demonstrated himself to be a

master. At the same time, viewers experience the works with their own, more Bergsonian ‘intuition,’ as discrete objects and also as

part of a larger continuum — including, given the ephemeral nature of many of the works, the continuum of time, the most constant

yet most elusive continuum of all.

Orange, indeed.

George Stolz

Carlos Bunga (Porto, Portugal 1976; lives and works in Barcelona, Spain) creates process-oriented works that straddle the divide

between sculpture, painting and installation. Using ordinary, unassuming materials such as packing cardboard and adhesive tape,

Bunga’s work is characterized by an intense study of color and materiality and a highly developed level of aesthetic care and

conceptual nuance, while at the same time his practice emphasizes the temporal and performative aspects of the creative act.

Bunga has had solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) (2018: on view); the Museum Haus Konstruktiv

(Zurich, 2015); the Museo de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá, 2015); La Capella dels Àngels / Museu d’Art

Contemporani de Barcelona MACBA (2015); the Museo Amparo (Puebla, 2014); the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo,

MUAC (Mexico D.F., 2013); the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2012); the Museu Serralves (Porto, 2012); the Hammer Museum

(Los Angeles, 2011); the Miami Art Museum (2009) and elsewhere. Bunga’s work has been featured in major international art

exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2015), Artes Mundi 6 (Cardiff, 2014; finalist); the 14th Biennale Internazionale di

Scultura di Cararra (2010); the 29th Sâo Paulo Biennial (2010); the Lisbon Architecture Triennial (2010) and Manifesta 5 (San

Sebastian, 2004). His work belongs to collections such as the Colección Fundación Botín (Santander), the Patricia Phelps de

Cisneros Collection (New York), Fundação Serralves (Porto), Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), Museum Haus Konstruktiv (Zurich) or

the Museum of Modern Art MoMA (New York).

Intuición, which will coincide with the 37th edition of ARCOmadrid, is Bunga’s fifth solo show at the Galería Elba Benítez.

Image: Carlos Bunga, installation view of the show Intución (detail), 2018, Galería Elba Benítez