Joana Vasconcelos- Awareness Post
- lilylav232
- Nov 15, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 19, 2023
Portuguese and born in 1971, Joana Vasconcelos is a visual artist who has been working in the art industry for over 30 years. Her large and immersive sculptures question collective identity, the status of women, and consumer society.
Accomplishments:
youngest artist and first woman to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles
in 2012 her exhibition was the most visited in France in 50 years
the first Portuguese artist to have an individual exhibition at the Guggenheim in Bilbao
became the third most visited in the history of the museum
in 2023 she was granted the honor to exhibit at the Uffizi Galleries and Pitti Palace, in Florence, alongside classical masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Caravaggio
recipient of more than 30 awards
Her large-scale installations encourage viewers to interact with her work.
She also contrasts the associations of mass-produced and handcrafted things by enveloping everyday objects with crochet or knitted material. These materials are also used to confront feminist social conventions.
She first attracted national attention with A Novia in 2005, a chandelier constructed of 25,000 tampons.
Joana Vasconcelos
Blackstar, 2016
Handmade woollen crochet, ornaments, polyester, on canvas, gilded relief frame, plywood.
99.5 x 132 x 56 cm
Joana Vasconcelos
Valkyrie Miss Dior, 2023
Handmade woollen crochet, fabrics, ornaments, ED, polyester, inflatable, fans microcontroller, power supply unit, steel cables.
24 x 21 x 6.8 m
Joana Vasconcelos
Marilyn, 2011
Stainless steel pans and lids, concrete
(2x) 297 x 155 x 410 cm
Blackstar:
- questions the boundary between painting and sculpture
- used dimensionality so that the work meets the viewer
- inspired by landscapes
Valkyrie Miss Dior:
- entirely handcrafted
- dialogue between floral patterns, color, and light
- central nucleus with extending tentacles
- the shine of the silk and the elegance of the organza contrast with a multiplicity of textures, the exuberance of the prints and the richness of the details: intricate crochet elements, meticulous embroidery and a feast of ornaments, such as sequins, braids, tassels and hundreds of LED lights, which simulate an effect of vibration
Marilyn:
- question women's domestic condition
- associating a cooking object with the world of glamour
- the multiplication of a small object – the Silampos number 18, used in Portugal to prepare plain rice for a family of four on a daily basis – ends up creating a monumental scale, in what could be seen as a tribute to the stoic, and not often recognized, role played by women all over the world
- through the reference to famous stories of transformation, the visual artist also creates a new layer of meaning, aiming to deconstruct stereotypes
Reaction:
Before researching, I had never even heard of this artist (even though she is so accomplished). While that probably has to do more with my environment than the artworld, I find it interesting how easily artists are overlooked when learning about the modern world. Her messages are really important, and even though I don't fully understand all of them, her questioning of this industrialized world with persisting older views of women really makes me view society differently. I also find her way of conveying these ideas interesting, Marilyn specifically was really inspiring. The concept feels really simple, a shoe made out of pans, but the message behind is is really powerful and is expressed in a comprehensible way. Her dedication is another thing I'm amazed by, Valkyrie Miss Dior is entirely handcrafted, a physical feat. She is so versatile with mediums that she can blend the boundaries between different categories of art, like with her sculpture paintings. I have always found that I prefer to work without a plan when creating, as I can get too caught up in the details. This makes me really love how you can see the flow of creativity in all of her work, even though she works on a really large scale.
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