Tiago Carneiro da Cuhna

at Kate MacGarry gallery

This is one of those exhibitions that just leaves you feeling flat and unexcited. Tiago is a Brazilian artist living in Rio de Janeiro, and he makes these cast resin sculptures that are like geometric abstracted versions of recognisable figures – a monkey, a couple having sex etc. The press release locates them somewhere between precious artefact and kitsch ornament, though personally I’d put them a little nearer the latter. And that’s it. You could conceivably make a case for them being some kind of critique of Eurocentric notions of Latin America but only if you were feeling very generous (and I’m not). One strictly for those looking for something “challenging” to put on the mantelpiece.