On 5 December, the Club visited Joana Vasconcelos’ studio. It was a stunning visit. Not that the artist didn’t surprise, question and marvel at us. However, being there on the same roof where she works, following the making of her works, is a sensation in which you can almost feel a little of that creative pulse.
Her large-scale pieces gain even more strength when seen up close. She works with fabric, from the most modest to the most sophisticated, she works with metal, making shoes with it, she works with ceramics, to which she adds lace, and the Bordalo pieces appear.
Joana likes hearts. One of her first surprising works, the heart made out of plastic cutlery, now has another version: Flaming Heart, made out of a red, in fact several reds, all shiny, made out of paillette fabrics, whose alacrity contrasts in disruptive ways with the plastic tubes scattered across the floor, simulating arteries and veins. A very unique piece.
You get to know the work and the artist better. And her way of conceiving the pieces, which she then has to flesh out. This is the work of a team which, we were told, the author respects and with which there is a real dialogue.
But from what we can see… it works. Hail, Joana Vasconcelos.
