Ruby City announces the co-commission and acquisition of Lina Bo Bardi – A Marvellous Entanglement, Isaac Julien’s iconic tribute to the late visionary architect Lina Bo Bardi.

San Antonio, TX (June 6, 2019) – Ruby City is pleased to announce the co-commission and acquisition of Isaac Julien’s multi-screen installation, Lina Bo Bardi  –  A Marvellous Entanglement as the newest addition the Linda Pace Foundation collection. The work receives its world premiere at Victoria Miro in London tonight, and is on view until 27 July.  The film, which intimately chronicles the life and legacy of the acclaimed Brazilian architect and designer Lina Bo Bardi offers a glimpse into some of her most celebrated works. Reminiscing on such breakthrough buildings as the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), SESC Pompeia and Teatro Oficina, A Marvelous Entanglement, gives viewers the opportunity to experience Bo Bardi’s architecture through a contemporary lens.

Born in 1914, Bo Bardi is regarded today as one of the most influential figures in Brazilian Modernist architecture. Lina Bo Bardi  –  A Marvellous Entanglement is a celebration of her creative vision, starring Brazilian actresses Fernanda Montenegro and her daughter Fernanda Torres, both of whom reenact scenes throughout the course of Bo Bardi’s life. Largely informed by anecdotal stories, the installation showcases seven of the architect’s buildings, at each of which Julien stages a performance or intervention celebrating the historical influence of that particular work. By visiting a selection of her landmark projects, Lina Bo Bardi  –  A Marvellous Entanglement illuminates the architect’s groundbreaking vision and unbound creativity.

Bo Bardi also wrote extensively on the social and cultural potential of design and architecture, which Julien brings to life through excerpts recited by Montenegro and Torres. Key to her design process was the notion that architecture has the potential to gather large groups together, and much of this ethos can be seen in her public spaces which encouraged social interaction and collaboration. Julien juxtaposes these ideas with the more minute details of her design vision, drawing attention to key structural elements, such as Bo Bardi’s iconic winding staircases, crystal easels and framing windows.

Lina Bo Bardi  –  A Marvellous Entanglement joins the permanent collection of the Linda Pace Foundation, which today preserves the largest collection of Julien’s work. In her 2003 book, Dreaming Red, Pace described her experience of first meeting Julien during his Artpace residency, saying that “I took great pleasure in his ideas, his British wit, his view of the world and his sweet disposition. I wanted to add not only The Long Road to Mazatlan to my collection, but all of Isaac’s work.  This was a first for me.  I believe that what Isaac calls his “painterly” descriptions of the human experience make him one of the most interesting artists I’ve known.”