CHICAGO, IL.- This summer, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is presenting the work of Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha as the fifth MCA Plaza Project. Da Cunha is known for finding creative ways to repurpose found objects—straw hats, plastic soda bottles, umbrellas—and the MCA Plaza has been activated by three of his interactive pieces, one measuring thirty feet tall, made from locally-produced concrete sewer pipes, and a concrete mixer. The materials have been repurposed from their typical locations—under Chicago’s city streets or on the back of a cement truck—and made accessible for visitors to step inside or peer into and see complex shadows revealed as sunlight filters down into them. Curated by Chief Curator Michael Darling, the plaza project is on view July 18, 2015, through July 24, 2016.

Da Cunha is interested in revealing an everyday object’s inherent form, beauty, and mystery. The cement mixer in Mix (Americana) (2013), Figurehead (2015), Biscuit (2015), are meant to not only inspire doubletakes from passers-by, but they also function as strange viewing devices. The outdoor sculptures are complemented by a temporary indoor installation in the museum’s atrium, also by da Cunha. Floor-to-ceiling wallpaper depicts found images of Brazilian oceanscapes, flipped from a horizontal to a vertical orientation. The geometric shapes that form are visible from the plaza, creating an indoor-outdoor connection between the sculptures and the lobby.

Alexandre da Cunha (Brazilian, b. 1969) studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London, and the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado in São Paulo. His work is part of museum collections such as the Tate Modern, and his recent solo exhibitions include Sommer & Kohl, Berlin; Frieze New York; Le Grand Café Centre d’Art Contemporain, Saint-Nazaire; Thomas Dane Gallery, London; and CRG Gallery, New York. He lives and works in London.

MCA Chicago’s Plaza Project is part of the MCA’s ongoing commitment to extending art into the community and enlivening Chicago's landscape with contemporary art beyond the museum’s walls. Alexandre da Cunha is the fifth artist to be chosen for the MCA Chicago Plaza Project, which has previously featured work by Mark Handforth (2011), Martin Creed (2012), Amanda Ross-Ho (2013), and Yinka Shonibare MBE (2014).