INSTALLATIONS
Installations formed a central part of Carlos Runcie Tanaka's practice — bringing together ceramics, space, light, sound, and architectural rhythm into immersive environments. Conceived as constellations of objects rather than isolated pieces, these works explored fragmentation, ritual, landscape, migration, and material memory through spatial relationships and sensory presence.
Selected works
Each of these installations has been presented in multiple contexts over the years, varying in scale and design according to the space.
Litoral
Ceramic forms arranged across wooden platforms in dialogue with the coastal landscape — stone, sea, and geological time compressed into a single space.
Notable presentation: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo MAC-Lima (2017).
El Viaje / The Journey
Origami, ceramic, and suspended form — a work about crossing, transformation, and the body in transit.
Notable presentation: 49th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2001).
Huayco / Kawa / Río
Fourteen ceramic spheres made from broken dinnerware — fragments recovered and reformed. A work about the ritual of loss and continuation.
Notable exhibitions: Sumballein. Antología Rota de Carlos Runcie Tanaka (2006), Fragmento (2009, 2010).
La Espera
Created in the aftermath of the Japanese Embassy hostage crisis in Lima — the figures hold the stillness of waiting, surrounded by copies of letters sent to those held captive. One of his most enduring works, present across decades and geographies.
Notable presentation: ARCOmadrid (1997), MAC Lima Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (2024-2026).
Film & Sound
Audiovisual and sound-based works created by Carlos Runcie Tanaka as part of his spatial and installation practice. These films and sound pieces functioned both as independent works and as extensions of larger installations, exploring atmosphere, rhythm, ritual, and sensory presence across different environments.
Arequipa / Dos — entre el cielo y la tierra
Video installation · 26th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil · 2004
Lo que éramos Lo que somos Lo que seremos
VideoinstallationSanzu..El RíoCentro Cultural Ricardo Palma, Miraflores, Peru.2013