Introduction

Deeply influenced by the socio-natural context of Brazil, the work of Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (Barcelona, 1977; lives and works in Rio de Janeiro) looks into ecology as a tool to analyze the relations of mutual transformation present in life. Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasmais presenting the largest survey of the artist to date, taking over 1000 sq meters and spanning 25 years of work. The exhibition includes a large array of media such as collage, drawing, holograms, installation, moving image, photography, sculpture, sound, and poetry, and marks his Finnish debut. 

Employing apparently opposite ideas such as belonging and dissolution or opacity and transparency, the artist creates immersive environments, materializing liminal states where the visual and the material coalesce into each other. Echoing the use of bodily, perceptual and sensorial strategies as a means of political participation by 1960s Brazilian artists such as Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica, Steegmann Mangrané creates sensual, playful situations, which overcome artificial dualisms that have historically defined our reading of the world. Such dichotomies are not only false but also hierarchical, placing mind above body, rational thought above emotion or culture above nature, ultimately enabling noxious worldviews. In opposition Steegmann Mangrané proposes an integrated approach to address the critical moment of ecological crisis we are currently experiencing. 

The exhibition is curated by João Laia, chief curator of temporary exhibitions Kiasma and Hiuwai Chu, head of exhibitions MACBA with Piia Oksanen, curator of temporary exhibitions Kiasma. The exhibition is a co-production with MACBA - Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, where it will travel in the fall.

Daniel Steegmann Mangrané
A Leaf Shapes The Eye 
Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma
Mannerheiminaukio 2
FIN-00100 Helsinki
March 31 – September 10, 2023
www.kiasma.fi