Lygia Pape’s solo exhibition, Tupinambá, is on view at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles now through August 8th. You still have time to catch this incredible show! It’s open in limited capacity and no booking online is necessary. I went on a Friday morning and had no wait time at all.
Lygia Pape, Memórias Tupinambá. 
Lygia Pape, Memórias Tupinambá.
Lygia Pape (1927-2004) was a prominent Brazilian artist and a founding member of the ‘Neo-Concrete movement. She pushed geometric art to its limited to include aspects of audience interaction, as well as, engagement with political and ethical themes. ‘Tupinambá’ is the first solo show in Los Angeles dedicated to Pape’s work and organizded by Projeto Lygia Pape. This is the first time this work has been exhibited in North America. AND HEY. Maybe one day female artist’s will get to see their own solo shows in LA while they’re still alive… I’m just saying…
Lygia Pape, Memórias Tupinambá. 
Lygia Pape, Memórias Tupinambá.
The Tupinambá series (as seen above and recognized by the use of artificial red feathers) exemplifies Pape’s interest in indigenous Brazilian peoples and cultural practices. This series is a reference to a ceremonial variant of cannibalism, called anthropophagy, practiced by the Tupinambá people. She describes it as follows: ‘The Tupinambá devoured their prisoners, their enemy, not from hunger as in cannibalism, but to swallow and assimilate the spiritual capacities of the other.’ Pape reclaims Brazil’s contentious past by reimagining the ritual of anthropophagy.
The exhibition continues in the second gallery with one of Pape’s most well known installations ‘Ttéia 1, C’ (2000/2021). She first developed this series in 1978, inventing the word ‘Ttéia’ specifically to describe these installations. It’s a combination of the Portuguese word for ‘web’ and ‘teteia’, a term for something graceful and delicate. This installation is made exclusively from silver and gold thread, secured to the floor with only 100-120 staples per panel.
Installation View. Lygia Pape, Ttéia 1, C. 
Installation View. Lygia Pape, Ttéia 1, C.
The highlight of this experience for me was the incredible gallery attendant in the Ttéia 1, C room. He called our attention over when we first entered and had us walk to left hand corner of the room. Then, he instructed us to walk the edges of the room, pausing along the way at each corner and side, to view the artwork from every angle. I would not have done this on my own and would have just sat on the benches placed at the front. The artwork truly is a different experience from EVERY angle. As you can see from the photo on the left, the second column of thread completely disappears in certain views. Next, the attendant had us sit on each of three benches to view the art while he gave us every detail about this piece from it’s origins to its construction. You could tell he was extremely passionate about the work and his job. This is the type of experience that I so wanted and craved after months of missing live art events. It’s so refreshing when a gallery attendant clearly loves art instead of someone who just stands in the corner and stares at you.
