Joana Vasconcelos - Textures of Life

Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos (b. 1971) had her international breakthrough in 2005, with her participation in the 51st International Art Exhibition– la Biennale di Venezia, showing a gigantic chandelier made of more than 14,000 tampons and entitled A Noiva [The Bride]. In 2012, her solo exhibition at Chatêau de Versailles – for which she was the youngest and only female artist invited to date – became the most visited exhibition in Paris in the last 50 years, welcoming a total of over 1,6 million visitors. A large part of Vasconcelos’ work revolves around the feminine – both as a social and a political phenomenon. She works with everyday objects and traditional Portuguese craft traditions including tiles, ceramics, fabric, embroidery and crochet. With sumptuous explosions of colour and authentic materials, she focuses on everyday routines subjecting them to fresh scrutiny.