Extravagances

Joana Vasconcelos's extravagances

An unforgettable immersion in the magical world of the artist Joana Vasconcelos is the proposal of the Oscar Niemeyer Museum with this exhibition, one of the most magnificent ever held by the institution.

Monumental installations and sculptures extrapolate the space and invade the MON. The visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a universe never created at the Museum.

The eye, ramp and floors of the tower were occupied by the color and creativity of this artist who lives and works in Lisbon, but whose art has transcended the limits of Portugal and Europe and fascinates the public from several continents.

Her “Valquíria Miss Dior”, an internationally famous work, is the attraction of the Museum's most noble exhibition space. With stratospheric dimensions, the incredible work mixes handmade wool crochet, fabrics, and polyester, suspended on steel cables, in a unique piece. 

Using a huge variety of techniques, in her unique language, Joana Vasconcelos updates the concept of art. With irony and humor, she brings everyday symbols to public space and irreverently questions topics such as the feminine, consumerism, and collective identity. 

Her artworks are present in several other museums and institutions around the world. An example: she also currently exhibits at the Uffizi Galleries and the Pitti Palace, in Florence, Italy. Recipient of dozens of awards, this artist still manages the eponymous Atelier and Foundation, grants scholarships, and supports social causes.

More than ever, art here is an inspiration.

In a constant quest to become increasingly alive and active, nationally and internationally, MON offers an impeccable exhibition, with the signature of one of the most important names in world contemporary art.

Enjoy it!

Juliana Vellozo Almeida Vosnika
Chief Executive Officer
Oscar Niemeyer Museum

Transcending Baroque and kitsch

The “Extravagances” exhibition sets the “Baroque” tone of a work that defies all artistic trends and breaks the monotony of an aesthetic that is often also conventional. A selection of models from the main site-specific projects carried out by the artist Joana Vasconcelos around the world allows us to capture the breadth of an extraordinary personality who seems to have the sky as the limit.

After the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Château de Versailles, and the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, for her first museological exhibition in Brazil, she presents her works and, among them, “Valquíria Miss Dior” (“Miss Dior Valkyrie”), a gigantic immersive installation created this year for the fashion show, in Paris, of Dior's Fall/Winter 2023-2024 collection.

The artist of superlatives

Many superlatives come to mind when we look at Joana Vasconcelos' work: unclassifiable, “apart”, unpredictable exuberance, transgression, excess… Her work explodes in ideas and energy, in a work that deviates from any established path. Popular tradition and contemporary art come together in an adventurous way to invent new forms. Joana questions what handicrafts can be in the 21st century. She subdues the banal and integrates everyday objects with an irony that is unique to her, creating a link between the domestic environment and the public space. She tirelessly questions women's place in the world, but also that of collective identity, without forgetting a scathing irony about a society where consumption knows no limits. Her dazzling “Valkyries” pay homage to great contemporary women from the different local cultures of the countries where she exhibits, while also giving a glimpse into her extravagant palette.

Baroque = “The Hall of Uselessness” – Simon Leys (1935-2014)

Coming from the combination of extra (“outside”) and vagari (“wander here and there”), the noun “extravagance”, chosen in the plural as the title of this first exhibition by Joana Vasconcelos in Brazil, suggests the idea of multiple changes of direction dictated by fantasy or whim, a baroque wandering associated with the crossing of any border or norm. With Joana, everything seems to be a possible path, as she does not follow any precise or defined path. Neither Pop Art nor New Realism will be able to lock it in its boxes.

“Extravagances”: where experimentation is pushed to the limit

A helicopter made from ostrich feathers, an architectural madness in the shape of a cake, the gigantic hearts of Viana do Castelo made from colored plastic cutlery, designs from swimming pool tiles, a chandelier made from sanitary pads, high-heeled shoes made from cooking pots, ever-larger embroidered Valkyries... no limits seem able to frame or confine her overflowing imagination. She charts her path and determines it as she pleases, in a poetic and euphoric way, without any apparent obstacle or logistical difficulty that could impede her creativity. Her “extravagance” takes the experience to the limit. With her work, she offers us the best antidote to the risk inherent in our human condition, of falling into routine or the routine of habit, leading us into a masterful dynamic of the usefulness of uselessness.

A work that highlights visual diversity

Her abundance of assertive and eccentric feminist works eagerly revisits what the “noble” or “lesser,” “tradition” and “elitism” want and can say today. Joana's “kitsch” or even “hyperkitsch” favors multiple reinterpretations of “our civilization of excess”, as defined by Gilles Lipovetsky & Jean Serroy, in their recent essay (Gallimard): “It is a kitsch that fortunately poetizes the world. Kitsch has the merit of being perceived and loved because it gives lightness, allows an easy form of escape.”

Undoubtedly, Joana Vasconcelos shakes conventions and stereotypes, forcing her audience to reconsider conventional ideas and the boundaries of taste. By abolishing the separation of genders, her (super) vibrant and optimistic work charts a path that enchants. Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for that big takeoff on MON.

Marc Pottier
Curator

A brain that seems to work 24 hours a day

Meeting Joana Vasconcelos, an artist born in Paris in 1971 who now lives and works in Lisbon, is to enter an infinitely large universe. Her XXL studio, in the refurbished old port warehouses on the banks of the Tagus, has 3,400 square meters spread over four floors and a team of 56 people working laboriously around it. The environment is that of a Renaissance studio and we meet visitors there for workshops, or multiple meetings to mount exhibitions or to create permanent works. Managing to talk to an artist who has projects in four corners of the world, when she is not in Aikido classes, is a challenge. But that is amply rewarded because, with everyone she welcomes, Joana is always available and smiling. There are no problems in her life, only solutions, appear to be her philosophy. This hyperactive girl never stops and has the adorable habit of always drawing when she talks to you on video conference. Does she give these drawings the names of people she was talking to?

A piece of feminist criticism

Extravagantly lively, Joana Vasconcelos' inaugurations are orchestrated in such a way that we see her enter the stage. Because she is in the habit of supporting emerging designers, she is always spectacularly dressed. Her impressive collection of dresses can be seen in part of her studio, where there is also a large dining room for everyone, a yoga room, a massage room... A universe of life where everyone has the opportunity to stop and breathe in the best possible way, after the many creative turns that the boss multiplies.

If Joana Vasconcelos seems to give in to a certain coquetry by exaggerating her femininity, it is in the best interest of denouncing commonplaces. As famous as she is, difficulties still arise when she presents some of her works, as was the case with “A Noiva” (“The Bride”). In this sculpture hanging from the ceiling, in the form of a classic chandelier, she replaced the crystal pendants with approximately 14 thousand intimate sanitary pads. The work was censored in certain institutions, such as the Château de Versailles, for its exhibition in 2012. The struggle did not stop there. You can be sure, she has more than enough energy to make herself heard.

Marc Pottier
Curator

“Valkyries” suspended in the air

Joana Vasconcelos’ exhibition at MON includes two of her “Valkyries”: “Miss Dior” and “Matarazzo”. The latter was presented in 2014, at the “Creative Invasion” of the former homonymous hospital in São Paulo. Her large mobiles, suspended by systems of tensioned cables from the ceiling or from the architecture of the places where the artist exhibits, may look like octopuses with their multiple long arms, from which large drops flow that complete, vertically, the large horizontal meanders of the works. Joana has a fondness for textile materials. Her “Valkyries” are generally composed of fabrics and clothing made in Portugal: flowered skirts, napkins with extravagantly complicated embroidery, silks for curtains or armchairs, floral garlands – which allow Joana to explore sewing, knitting, and crochet – and many ancestral methods that, at times, she revives. The “Valkyries” are usually accompanied by a system of LED lights that accentuate the magic of their tentacular, immersive compositions.

Luxury is “something that differentiates us in Europe and is an essential provider of jobs. This sector makes it possible to support networks of artisans, and the traditional ‘savoir-faire’ endures thanks to the contemporary use of these skills. It is not insignificant. Personally, luxury inspires me. For example, in my work I like to subvert Portuguese luxury: I use lace, embroidery, silk, and ornaments. I like giving life to these techniques” (Joana Vasconcelos).

From Norse Mythology to Contemporary Aesthetics

Joana Vasconcelos recalls that in Norse mythology the Valkyries are deities who served Odin, master of the gods. Covered in armor, women were equal to men, they flew, led battles, distributed death among warriors, and took the souls of heroes to Valhalla, the great palace of Odin. Since Wagner, modern art has represented them as sumptuous virgins mounted on winged horses, adorned with helmets, and armed with spears. The name “Valkyrie” comes from the Old Norse Valkyrja, literally “chooser of the dead.” They choose who lives or dies on the battlefield.

Since 2003, Joana has created approximately 30 “Valkyries” around the world. They are generally composed of several large elements, with the mythological Valkyries numbering 13, to which smaller ones are added to complete the set.

From Norse Mythology to Contemporary Aesthetics

Joana Vasconcelos recalls that in Norse mythology the Valkyries are deities who served Odin, master of the gods. Covered in armor, women were equal to men, they flew, led battles, distributed death among warriors, and took the souls of heroes to Valhalla, the great palace of Odin. Since Wagner, modern art has represented them as sumptuous virgins mounted on winged horses, adorned with helmets, and armed with spears. The name “Valkyrie” comes from the Old Norse Valkyrja, literally “chooser of the dead.” They choose who lives or dies on the battlefield.

Since 2003, Joana has created approximately 30 “Valkyries” around the world. They are generally composed of several large elements, with the mythological Valkyries numbering 13, to which smaller ones are added to complete the set.

Celebration of women's freedom

Her “Valkyries” are pretexts for shedding light on female personalities,

as was the case, in 2019, with “Simone” (9.65 x 12.20 x 30.51 m), at the Bon Marché, in Paris, in honor of great French female figures such as Simone Veil and Simone de Beauvoir, but also Simone Hérault, an actress known for being the voice of the SNCF (national train line in France) for 40 years. For Joana, these women were great Valkyries of modern times.

Bringing Catherine Dior into the spotlight

With Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Italian designer, and current artistic director of the house of Dior, Joana wanted to create a dialogue around Catherine Dior, sister of Monsieur Dior, a strong and independent female figure, who served in the French Resistance. The “Miss Dior Valkyrie” (6.80 x 21 x 24 m) uses floral fabrics inspired by the brand’s archives for the Autumn/Winter 2023-2024 collection and was certainly one of the most “Instagrammable” works of the year.

For the Miss Dior Valkyrie, Joana chose to use mottled floral fabrics inspired by around 20 fabrics from the House of Dior's archives, but also embroidered with pearls and strass, lace, and crochet elements. Like all Valkyries, Miss Dior is entirely handmade by the teams at the Lisbon workshop. It is an ode to the flowers of “Miss Dior” and the splendor of nature dear to the legendary couturier, thus creating a link between places, times, and culture. Vasconcelos' work unfolds in a space bathed in blue light, evocating the abyss of an ocean. For the Dior show, this new “Valkyrie” took up the entire space of the tent where it was installed. She made it seem nearly impossible to escape her. “Islands” with organic shapes, also made of fabric, invited the public to sit. MON presents an adapted version, in the Eye, thus offering a dialogue between Joana Vasconcelos, Catherine Dior, and the architecture of the great Oscar Niemeyer Museum.

Marc Pottier
Curator

In the tradition of the architectural “Folies” of the 18th century

The MON exhibition also unites a series of models from the numerous site-specific projects carried out by Joana Vasconcelos around the world, such as, for example, the “Bolo de Noiva” (“Wedding Cake”). It is an incredible architectural “madness” on three levels, 12 meters high and 13 meters in diameter, which has been installed since June in the park of Waddesdon Manor, managed by the Rothschild Foundation, northwest of London. Joana created her version of “a temple of love and joy”, with the touch of humor that characterizes her: the lovers can meet at the top, thus becoming similar to the figurines of the bride and groom on top of the wedding cakes. The “Wedding Cake” is entirely covered, inside and out, with handmade tiles and ceramic pieces from the century-old Viúva Lamego factory. The work is based on a metal structure, into which waterfalls and a complex lighting system were incorporated. Although it immediately makes us think of the architectural “Folies” of the 18th century, the set is inspired by the exuberance of the Baroque and the decorative traditions of the city of Lisbon.

To escape your fate

Another recent example of Joana Vasconcelos as an artist who never stops is the “Árvore da Vida” (“Tree of Life”), a work created this year especially for Sainte-Chapelle du Château de Vincennes. This 13-meter-high installation features around 140,000 black, red, and gold leaves that were, of course, embroidered and handwoven in the artist's studio. Another great woman is behind this work Joana Vasconcelos, who was inspired by the history of the place, and by Queen Catherine de' Medici, widow of Henry II who continued the development of the Sainte-Chapelle and the castle park, planting there three thousand elms.

The work also echoes the female mythological figure of Daphne, who turns into a tree to escape Apollo. Taking on the challenge of dialoguing with the 1622 sculpture by the great Italian sculptor Bernini, in the Villa Borghese, Joana Vasconcelos imagined the moment in which the mythological figure of Daphne decides to transform into a laurel tree. This work is also a moment of self-determination and self-improvement. During the Covid-19 pandemic confinement, the artist asked the artisans who worked with her to create 140,000 leaves, all hand-embroidered, with different patterns inspired by Portuguese embroidery in Viana do Castelo. Therefore, 354 branches form a tree that expresses the artist’s excess. Daphne will have escaped her and Joana's fate, from any criterion that could confine her.

Marc Pottier
Curator

Most cultures in the world include references to the alcohol so often present in people gatherings and celebratory ceremonies. The French drink champagne, the Japanese toast with sake, the Brazilians get extra joy from cachaça. From her travels around the world, and in a nod to Marcel Duchamp’s first readymade – ‘Porte-Bouteilles’, 1914 – Joana Vasconcelos envisioned the ‘Candlestick’ series. 

‘Nectar’ (2006) uses the traditional green wine bottles from Portugal and has joined the collection associated with the Bacalhoa brand; ‘Message in a Bottle’ (2006) was created with blue glass containers for sake; ‘Blue Champagne’ was developed for the visual artist solo show at Versailles Palace in 2012 using Pommery POP and ‘Lafite’ (2015) employs the bottles from the famous brand developed at Château Lafite Rothchild. 

All of them monumental outdoor sculptures, formed by two twin vertical iron structures, where thousands of champagne bottles are juxtaposed to form candleholders, with their own interior light. Subverting the domestic scale and bringing the indoors out with flamboyant verticality, the Portuguese artist highlights the identity values associated to ‘les arts de la table’ (the arts of the table) around the globe.

Message in a Bottle, 2006
Sake bottles, metallized and thermo-lacquered iron, ultra-bright LED, power supply unit
(2x) 650 x Ø 350 cm

Néctar, 2006
Wine bottles, metallized and thermo-lacquered iron, ultra-bright LED, power supply unit, concrete
(2x) 720 x Ø 350 cm
Coleção Berardo

Blue Champagne, 2012
Pommery POP Champagne bottles, metallized and thermo-lacquered iron, ultra-bright LED, power supply unit
(2x) 940 x Ø 496 cm
Work produced with the support of Vranken Pommery
Private collection

Lafite, 2015
Château Lafite Rothschild wine bottles, metallized and thermo-lacquered wrought iron, ultra-bright LED, power supply unit
(2x) 700 x Ø 280 cm
Waddesdon, The Rothschild Collection (Rothschild Family Trust)

18'' light alloy golden wheel rims, vrystal whisky glasses, metallized and thermo-lacquered iron, stainless steel, tempered and laminated glass
720 x 604 x 209 cm
Artwork made with 1449 glasses and 110 wheel rims.
Private Collection

The theme of desire can be found at the epicentre of this creation by Joana Vasconcelos, which reproduces an engagement ring on a monumental scale. A representation of the love and commitment between two people that consumer society would eventually transform into a symbol of status and power, the artist's ‘Solitaire’ is made up of 110 golden car rims creating a circumference crowned by an inverted pyramid composed of 1,450 crystal whisky glasses, simulating a giant diamond. Combining two of the most stereotypical symbols of luxury - cars and diamonds - to recreate one of the most coveted objects in the world, Joana Vasconcelos also questions male and female roles in today's society. The piece, created in 2018 for the exterior of the Guggenheim Bilbao as part of the I'm Your Mirror exhibition, has also travelled to the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Serralves Museum Park and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

In 2007 Joana Vasconcelos initiated a series of artworks that question women’s domestic condition, departing from an everyday cooking object and establishing an unlikely association with the world of glamour. Overlapping stainless steel pans and lids, the artist creates another symbol, associated both with the elegance depicted on the big screen (through titles such as Marilyn, Dorothy, Priscilla or Carmen Miranda) and the dreamlike aspirations of children's imagination (carried over through the references to Cinderella and Betty Boop). 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. 

Bronze, mirrors
356 x 610 x 550 cm
Work made with 255 frames e 510 mirrors
Edition of 7 + 2 AP
Sierra Portugal, SA

While referring to the role of artists in society, Joana Vasconcelos ends up creating a game of concealment. Using 255 baroque bronze mouldings (designed and decorated by the artist) and 510 mirrors superimposed as if they were scales, she creates a surprising Venetian mask. Through a sculptural piece that adapts to both indoor and outdoor spaces, a dialogue is established with the surroundings. In turn, visitors who want to see their image reflected back are invited to discover that “there is only reflection when there is parallelism”, as the visual artist explains. Taken from the song of the same name, written by Lou Reed and performed by the Velvet Underground and singer Nico, the title also served as the theme for the solo show at the Guggenheim Bilbao.

29/06/2018 > 11/11/2018
Museu Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbau
Espanha, Spain

Between June and November 2018, the Guggenheim Bilbao presented the first solo exhibition by a Portuguese artist at the museum and the first anthological dedicated to Joana Vasconcelos in Spain. With a total number of 649,082 visitors, it continues to be the third most viewed in the museum's history and has been voted fourth best that year at the top 10 by The Art Newspaper. Curated by Petra Joos and Enrique Juncosa, the exhibition brought together around 30 works and a site-specific installation for the museum's central atrium, the Egeria valkyrie (in honour of the first female traveller from that region) specially designed to dialogue with the architecture of Frank Ghery. The title for the exhibition came from the song I’m Your Mirror (composed by Lou Reed, performed by Velvet Underground and singer Nico), as the visual artist reflected upon the role of representing society attributed to the creators of each historical time.

Viúva Lamego hand-painted tiles
215 x Ø 900 cm
Robert & Nicky Wilson Collection, Edinburgh

Jupiter Artland is famed for its exquisite sculpture collection and, therefore, founders Nicky and Robert Wilson surprised Joana Vasconcelos with the non-conventional request to create a swimming pool. Honoring her country’s long-lasting relationship with the seas and oceans, she then approached Viúva Lamego to create 13,000 hand-painted and glazed tiles manufactured the traditional way, as they’ve been doing since 1849, but with the added non-slip and non-frost challenge required for Edinburgh’s wintery temperatures. The visual artist’s vibrant and colourful drawing motifs span collective narratives, from sacred geometries to the zodiac and beyond. Within an enclosed garden, Gateway provides a both intimate yet expansive experience, interweaving the dichotomies of publicness and privacy, exploring the idea of swimming pools as playful sites where to foster community. Located in a mythical landscape, deliberately positioned along Ley lines, it provides a contemporary entry point into ancient discourse and collective spirituality; a site to contemplate and immerse. 

Aluminium, steel, fabrics, handmade cotton crochet, ornaments, LED, power supply unit
1350 x 900 x 900 cm

Faced with the challenge to interact with Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture at the Villa Borghese, Joana Vasconcelos imagined the tree that the mythological figure of Daphne turns into when, fleeing Apollo's amorous advances, she decides to transform into a laurel. A gesture of self-determination and overcoming that found a parallel when - in the confinement to which her studio was forced due to the Covid-19 pandemic - the artist asked the craftsmen who work with her to create leaves from home. 140,000 in total, all hand-embroidered with different motifs, such as the Viana do Castelo canutilho stitch, ended up forming 354 branches on a 13 metres high tree. A site-specific creation for the Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes in Paris carried out in collaboration with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux to celebrate the Cultural Season between Portugal and France 2022, curated by Jean-François Chougnet; the work reinforces the verticality of the link between earth and sky, the mundane and the spiritual.

Viúva Lamego ceramic tiles and ceramics, glass, metallized and thermo-lacquered wrought iron, galvanized and painted iron sheet, LED, optical fibre, power supply unit, hydraulic system, iron
1100 x ø 1300 cm 
Waddesdon, The Rothschild Collection (Rothschild Family Trust)

A three-storey, 12-metre-high sculpture measuring 365-squaremetres in total area, Joana Vasconcelos’ monumental ‘Wedding Cake’ for the Rothschild Foundation is completed each time a pair of visitors stands atop the artwork like the traditional bride and groom figures on the traditional confectionery versions. The structure, developed by Metal Azóia, completed with waterfalls and an intricate lighting system, is covered, inside and out, with artisanal tiles and ceramic pieces from the traditional Portuguese manufactory Viúva Lamego. Inspired by the exuberant Baroque and decorative traditions from the city of Lisbon, where the artist lives and works, visitors may pre-book a tour of the installation in the Waddesdon sculpture park, England, where the Dairy is included. In the tradition of the Rothschild family’s festive pavilions, and in a dialogue with their exquisite ceramics collection, this installation offers visitors from around world an immersive experience that will remain in the memories and photographs of families to come. A cross between pâtisserie and architecture, it is above all “a temple to love”.

This work, conceived in 2014 for the “Creative Invasion” of the former hospital of the same name in São Paulo, presents forms that resemble octopuses with their multiple arms, from which elements flow that complete the central body of the work. Joana has a predilection for textile materials and her “Valkyries” are composed of fabrics and clothes made in Portugal: flowered skirts, complex embroidery, silk curtains or armchairs, floral garlands that allow Joana to explore sewing, knitting, and crochet, and other ancestral methods that she revives. 

“Luxury is something that differentiates us in Europe and is an essential provider of jobs. This sector makes it possible to support networks of artisans, and the traditional ‘savoir-faire’ persists thanks to the contemporary use of these skills. Luxury inspires me. In my work, I like to subvert Portuguese luxury: I use lace, embroidery, silk, and trimmings. I like giving life to these techniques” (Joana Vasconcelos).

As we enter the tunnel that Oscar Niemeyer created, we establish our feet in a magical territory that takes us towards a landscape that is that of the future. Powerfully dreamlike, one of the most photographed areas in all of MON is also the one where the architecture manifests itself in all its lightness, white and curvilinear. It was in this place, simultaneously passing through and meeting, that Joana Vasconcelos visualized her “Dream Curtain” (“Cortina do Sonho”). A site-specific intervention temporarily installed as a complement to the “Extravagances” (“Extravagâncias”) exhibition, it presents itself as a veil of textile components, color, and light. From the ceiling descend 41 drop-shaped modules, of varying heights, the largest of which are two and a half meters high and 50 centimeters wide, joined by a suspended structure 45 meters long. 

The work was developed in collaboration with Dior, Paris, using fabrics with floral motifs provided by the French fashion house, and also uses LED lighting, various trimming elements, various accessories, and handmade wool crochet. A marvel of detail created by the artisans at Atelier Joana Vasconcelos, updating the connection between arts and crafts for the 21st century, the “Dream Curtain” defines the route to the Miss Dior Valkyrie, which served as her motto and which can be found in the space of the Eye. Focusing on the connection between fashion and manual know-how, the artist challenges different creative universes, while establishing a unique and unrepeatable dialogue between sculpture and architecture, based on Oscar Niemeyer's creation.

“Cortina do Sonho”, 2024 (Dream Curtain)

Handmade cotton crochet, fabrics, props, LED, polyester, polystyrene, microcontroller, power supply and plywood.

250 x 48 x 4,560 cm

Work created in collaboration with Dior, Paris.