Ernesto Neto: Dancing Allowed: CAC Contemporary Art Center, Cinncinati

Brazilian sculptor Ernesto Neto is considered one of the most influential artists of this generation. The exhibition is an environment created by the artist specifically for the CAC which engages all the senses. Neto creates all-encompassing installations of stretchy, stocking-like material and loose, translucent scrims extending from ceiling to floor and often filled with aromatic spices or malleable Styrofoam pellets. The soft, stretched stockings are redolent of the exterior organic world, yet they are also evocative of our skin, our interior body systems, and our senses. The spices and powders emit aromas and leave residue, enhancing the experience through different textures and scents. Neto brings new life to the very concept of sculpture and architecture by creating these soaring spaces and immersive environments that invite engagement on many levels, both formal and philosophical.

Neto was born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he currently lives and works. His works have been displayed in some of the most important international contemporary art museums and at the Sao Paulo Biennale in 1988, Kwangju Biennale in 1995, the Biennale of Sydney in 1998, Liverpool Biennial in 2000 and 2002, and the Venice Biennale in 2001 in 2003.