Born in 1972 in Lisbon, where she studied Fine Arts, Leonor Antunes lives and works in Berlin. In her sculpture and installations, she reflects on the functions of everyday objects and analyses the potential of different forms of modernity. Antunes reinterprets design objects, works of art and architectural details by translating them into different materials such as rope, wood, leather, rubber and brass. With a minimalist language, she often takes figures from the history of modern art, architecture and design as references for her work. These are invariably lesser-known figures, especially women, such as Eileen Gray, Mary Martin or Clara Porset. In this way, the artist constructs an alternative history of art that contrasts canonical narratives and prioritises other forms of modernity.

Her work has been shown at Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2018); New Museum, New York (2015); Kunsthalle, Basel (2013); Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (2015); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2011); and Museu Serralves, Porto (2011), among others. It is included in collections such as the Musée d'art contemporain, Bordeaux; FRAC, Marseille; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Tate, London; SFMoMA, San Francisco; and MACBA, Barcelona.

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