leonor antunes
1972, Lisbon
Engaging with the history of 20th century architecture, design, and art, Leonor Antunes reflects on the function of everyday objects and the potential of modernist forms to become sculptures. She investigates the coded values and flow of ideas embedded within objects and transforms them into reimagined abstract structures. Integrating materials such as rope, wood, leather, and brass, Antunes quietly rattles the aesthetic traces of modernism to foresee a revived way of thinking: looking forward by looking back. Borrowing from vernacular traditions of craftsmanship from South America, Mexico, and Portugal, the artists seeks to understand the construction principles behind rational designs and the process of reducing reality to a geometric abstraction. The grid, present in most of the art works, objects, and buildings she references, is transformed into brass nets, interlaced and knotted strings, leather straps, and looms of hand-woven cotton threads. She finds inspiration in the practice of female artists: their radical social and political stances and their practical improvement of everyday life through art and design.
Leonor Antunes lives and works in Berlin.
a secluded and pleasant land, in this land i wish to dwell, 2014
bamboo, silk wengue wood
variable dimensions
installation view, 8th berlin biennale for contemporary art, kw institute for contemporary
art, berlin, 2014
raumplan, 2011
variable dimensions
installation view, galeria luisa strina, são paulo, 2013
raumplan, 2011
variable dimensions
installation view at galeria luisa strina, são paulo, 2013
discrepancies with m.g., 2011
brass, nylon rope, cork, rubber
variable dimensions
installation view, museo experimental el eco, mexico city, 2011
discrepancies with m.g., 2011
brass, nylon rope, cork, rubber
variable dimensions
installation view, museo experimental el eco, mexico city, 2011
discrepancies with m.g., 2011
brass, nylon rope, cork, rubber
variable dimensions
installation view, museo experimental el eco, mexico city, 2011
discrepancies with m.g., 2011
brass, nylon rope, cork, rubber
variable dimensions
installation view, museo experimental el eco, mexico city, 2011
discrepancies with m.g., 2011
brass, nylon rope, cork, rubber
variable dimensions
installation view, museo experimental el eco, mexico city, 2011
the last days in chimalistac, 2013
leather, hemp rope, bamboo, linen thread, oak
variable dimensions
installation view, kunsthalle basel, switzerland, 2013
anni, 2015
leather, cotton rope
157.48 x 59.06 x .79 in.
installation view of i stand like a mirror before you, kiosk, ghent, belgium, 2015
i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view of i stand like a mirror before you, kiosk, ghent, belgium, 2015
i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
leather, cotton rope
variable dimensions
installation view of i stand like a mirror before you, kiosk, ghent, belgium, 2015
i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
plexiglass, brass plates, brass screws
86.61 x 92.13 x 11.61 in.
installation view, kiosk, ghent, belgium, 2015
i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
plexiglass, brass plates, brass screws
86.61 x 92.13 x 11.61 in.
installation view, kiosk, ghent, belgium, 2015
le plan pliable, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, centre d'art contemporain de bordeaux, france, 2015
le plan pliable, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view at centre d'art contemporain de bordeaux, france, 2015
le plan pliable, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, centre d'art contemporain de bordeaux, france, 2015
le plan pliable, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, centre d'art contemporain de bordeaux, france, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the umpredictability of possible future uses, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view (detail) of the past, the present, the possible, sharjah biennial 12, sharjah, united arab emirates, 2015
the thread is so tiny, that the eye, though armed with a magnifying glass, suspects it, rather than use it II, 2013
ipe wood, tola wood, nylon yarn, lamps, brass, iron, bulbs, electrical cable
variable dimensions
installation view, kunsthalle lissabon, lisbon, 2013
leonor antunes: i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, new museum, new york, 2015
leonor antunes: i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, new museum, new york, 2015
leonor antunes: i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, new museum, new york, 2015
leonor antunes: i stand like a mirror before you, 2015
variable dimensions
installation view, new museum, new york, 2015
a skylight alley running sideways, 2016
powder coated brass plates, micro cable, stainless steel and brass beads
168 x 102 x 6 in.
installation view of a spiral staircase leads down to the garden, san francisco museum of
modern art, 2016
a skylight alley running sideways, 2016
powder coated brass plates, micro cable, stainless steel and brass beads
168 x 102 x 6 in.
installation view of a spiral staircase leads down to the garden, san francisco museum of
modern art, 2016
the sensation of being outdoors, 2008
diamond-shaped mesh, black rope, brass tubes
installation view of casa, modo de usar, serralves museum, porto, portugal, 2011
villa, how to use, 2011
variable dimensions
installation view of casa, modo de usar, serralves museum, porto, portugal, 2011
1969 I, 2008
bamboo, leather
variable dimensions
installation view of casa, modo de usar, serralves museum, porto, portugal, 2011
villa, how to use, 2011
variable dimensions
installation view of casa, modo de usar, serralves museum, porto, portugal, 2011
vila mallet-stevens, 2011
16 nets in nylon string
variable dimensions
installation view of casa, modo de usar, serralves museum, porto, portugal, 2011
installation view of leonor antunes: surface, edge and voids (expanded), kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2026. photo: gerardo landa & eduardo (glr estudio)
installation view of leonor antunes: surface, edge and voids (expanded), kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2026. photo: gerardo landa & eduardo (glr estudio)
installation view of leonor antunes: surface, edge and voids (expanded), kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2026. photo: gerardo landa & eduardo (glr estudio)
installation view of leonor antunes: the apparent length of a floor area, fruitmarket, edinburgh, 2023. courtesy of fruitmarket
installation view of leonor antunes: the apparent length of a floor area, fruitmarket, edinburgh, 2023. courtesy of fruitmarket
installation view of leonor antunes: the apparent length of a floor area, fruitmarket, edinburgh, 2023. courtesy of fruitmarket
installation view of leonor antunes: discrepancies with c.p, museo tamayo, mexico city, 2018. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes: discrepancies with c.p, museo tamayo, mexico city, 2018. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes: discrepancies with c.p, museo tamayo, mexico city, 2018. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes in viva arte viva, 57th venice biennale, 2017. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes in viva arte viva, 57th venice biennale, 2017. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes in viva arte viva, 57th venice biennale, 2017. photo: nick ash
installation view of leonor antunes: new work, san francisco museum of modern art, 2026. photo: david funk
installation view of leonor antunes: new work, san francisco museum of modern art, 2026. photo: david funk
installation view of leonor antunes: new work, san francisco museum of modern art, 2026. photo: david funk
installation view of leonor antunes: last days in chimalistac, kunsthalle basel, 2013. courtesy of kunsthall basel and the artist
installation view of leonor antunes: last days in chimalistac, kunsthalle basel, 2013. courtesy of kunsthall basel and the artist
installation view of leonor antunes: last days in chimalistac, kunsthalle basel, 2013. courtesy of kunsthall basel and the artist
Solo exhibitions include: the homemaker and her domain II, Contemporary Art Space Kula, Split, Croatia (2026); discrepancies with W.W. (in company), The University Gallery of the Angewandte, Vienna, Austria (2026); surface, edge and voids (expanded), kurimanzutto, Mexico City (2026); the constant inequality of leonor’s days*, Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal (2024); traveled to Crac Occitanie, Sète, France (2025); the apparent length of a floor area, The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (2023); the homemaker and her domain, part iii, kurimanzutto, Mexico City (2022); joints, voids and gaps, Mudam Luxembourg (2020); vazios, intervalos e juntas, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), Brazil (2019); discrepancies with C. P., Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland (2019); the last days in Galliate, Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2018); Discrepancias con C.P., Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2018); the frisson of the togetherness, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2017); Discrepancies with G.G., Tensta konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2017); a spiral staircase leads down to the garden, as part of New Work, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (2016); the pliable plane, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, France (2015); I Stand Like a Mirror Before You, New Museum, New York (2015); Leonor Antunes, Pérez Art Museum Miami (2014); a linha é tão fina que o olho, apesar de armado com uma lupa, imagina-a ao invés de vê-la, Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon, Portugal (2013); the last days in chimalistac, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2013); Discrepancias con M. G., Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico City (2011); casa, modo de usar, Serralves Foundation – Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2011); walk around there. look through here, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2011), among others.
Group exhibitions include: Marisa Merz – La danza delle ore, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Italy (2026); Fue de día, fue de tarde, fue fantástico, Fundación Casa de México en España, Madrid (2026); Creating Space: The Constructivist Marlow Moss, Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin (2026); The City of Women, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland (2025); Collection 2: Undo, Redo, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (2025); Stories Written: Zurich Art Prize Winners 2007–2023, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland (2024); Colección Jumex: Todo se vuelve más ligero, Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2023); Witch Hunt, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2021); Resonating Spaces, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland (2019); Potency and Adversity: Art from Latin America in the Portuguese Collections, Galerias Municipais de Lisboa – Pavilhão Branco and Museu de Lisboa – Pavilhão Preto, Lisbon, Portugal (2017); Condemned to Be Modern, as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) (2017); Cuevas civilizadas, Ladera Oeste, Guadalajara, Mexico (2017); Ficciones y territorios. Arte para pensar la nueva razón del mundo, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2016); Conversas: arte portuguesa recente na coleção de Serralves, Serralves Foundation – Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2016); Function Follows Vision, Vision Follows Reality, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria (2015); Slip of the Tongue, Punta della Dogana, Venice (2015); Attention Economy, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria (2014); Beyond the Supersquare, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York (2014); Decorum, Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris (2013), among others.
Antunes has participated in many international biennials, including: a seam, a surface, a hinge, or a knot, Portuguese Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019); Imagined Borders, 12th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2018); Viva Arte Viva, 57th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale (2017); The past, the present, the possible, Sharjah Biennial 12, United Arab Emirates (2015); 8. Berlin Biennale (2014); Utopia starts small, 12. Fellbach Triennial of Small Scale Sculpture, Germany (2013); Open House, SB2011 Singapore Biennale (2011); Bienal de Arte Contemporânea da Maia, Portugal (1999), among others.
Leonor Antunes and Tobias Ostrander will talk about interests in modernist architecture and design.
The artist created a new installation that exploits the physical qualities and proportions of this iconic architectural space designed by Ieoh Ming Pei.
kurimanzutto is delighted to felicitate Leonor Antunes with a seam, a surface, a hinge or a knot representing the Portugal Pavilion at the Fundazione Ugo et Olga Levi Onlus, Palazzo Giustinian Lolin.
The Last Days in Galliate is Leonor Antunes first major exhibition in Italy, conceived as a complex installation that fills the 1,400 square metres on the space known as the shed at Pirelli HangarBicocca: the works, many of which are new productions, converge with the structural elements of context and the natural lightning, thus merging into a single narrative.
The 12th Gwangju Biennale’s Imagined Borders is a guiding concept that responds to the current times of change and uncertainty by recognizing the limits of grand narratives, singular authorship and the necessity to return to the complexities of multiple voices and perspectives. Seven exhibitions, spread across the city at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, the Asia Culture Center, and other historical sites, will present responses to the imagination of borders—as historical and real, experiential and abstract, imaginary and transgressive.
Her sculptures and interventions transform, in a certain way, the places where they are placed, and explore notions that are normally associated with the architectural, the planned and the built-such as measurement, proportion or scale. Paradoxically, Antunes has a systematic work methodology that incorporates randomness and arbitrariness as part of its raw material, which gives autonomy to the subject and gives its forms a specific meaning.
