Famed sculptress Joana Vasconcelos debuts at MGM

Fresh from her success representing Portugal at the 55th Venice Biennale, internationally renowned Portuguese contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos will bring her seductive and subversive large-scale sculptures to Macau in a unique exhibition at MGM Macau set to debut on March 15.
Staging her first solo exhibition in China, this showcase will be the most ambitious the sculptress has attempted to date. Comprising solely new works specifically conceived for the space, central to the exhibition is a monumental large-scale work created for MGM’s Portuguese-inspired main square, the Grande Praça. As well as being influenced by the venue’s décor and atmosphere, Vasconcelos also draws on the marine and the maritime, likewise integrating the city’s former Portuguese heritage into her artworks.
Vasconcelos’ sculptures and installations typically reveal a powerful sense of scale and mastery of color, emphasizing cultural exchanges and meetings of opposites. The idea to exhibit in Macau came about as a result of an invitation by MGM as well as the personal experiences of Vasconcelos’ own family members in the territory. “The invitation was made by Pansy Ho and MGM Macau, to become the first contemporary artist to exhibit at the Grand Praça”, she revealed to MDT. “This is a particularly special moment in my career not only because of the relation that exists between Portugal and Macau – including within my own family – as this is the first time I will be exhibiting individually in China”, she added.
“Not only is the history of the epic Portuguese overseas expeditions to the Orient and relationship between Portugal and Macau quite present in my culture, my family also had a passage through this territory. My grandparents and my mother lived in Macau for a while and transmitted this experience to me”, the sculptress moreover revealed.
Vasconcelos’ exhibition will include the largest piece to date in her iconic “Valkyries” series of sculptures, which have been at the core of her work since 2004. The artworks, which are inspired by female figures in Norse mythology who decide which soldiers live and die on the battlefield, are vast organic forms composed of many fabric elements. Named “Valkyrie Octopus”, the grandiose multi-hued sculpture that will hang from the skylight dome of MGM’s central atrium is the most and complex “Valkyrie” created so far.
“The exhibition is composed by four new works created for the Grande Praça of MGM Macau”, she explained. “The leading piece is ‘Valkyrie Octopus’, the largest work to date within my ‘Valkyries’ series, hanging 34-metres wide at the center of the Grande Praça, and incorporating a new technique that is composed by the use of inflatables, as well as the introduction of LEDs – which I have recently introduced into my formal language”.
Vasconcelos combines artisanal techniques such as crochet and Nisa embroidery (from the Alto Alentejo region of Portugal) with thousands of LED lights and boldly colored, patterned materials embellished by various kind of beads in a patchwork of patterns, shapes and textures. Her Octopus is “composed by a soft-colored patchwork of various textiles and ornaments, as well as artisanal techniques combined with industrial and technological elements”, she explains.

Valkyrie Octopus (2015) in progress at Joana Vasconcelos Studio, In Lisbon

The area where the sculpture is being realized is a vast open space, with a huge ceiling height. The piece will “embrace the aquarium through elongated tentacles that burst from its main body”, reaching across the open space of the square to three other sculptures, floor works that belong to her “Tetris” series: “Chiado”, “Alfama” and “Mouraria”. “Clad in Portuguese handmade tiles with themes and motifs that converse with the Grande Praça’s Portuguese inspired façades, these works – whose titles make reference to Lisbon’s main historic neighborhoods – allow for one to sit and contemplate the exhibition from three different perspectives, inviting the visitor to become part of the work”, the sculptress clarified. “And the scale of the Grande Praça is perfect for my monumental works”.
As a celebrated contemporary artist, Vasconcelos has exhibited in many prominent locations around the world, including most famously at the Palace of Versailles in France as well as at numerous editions of the Venice Biennale. Recent solo exhibitions were held at equally prestigious venues including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda (Lisbon). Her sculptures were likewise showcased at the Gucci Museum together with works from the François Pinault Collection. “I look upon these projects with much enthusiasm because not only am I fond of breaking barriers, as my work also has a strong connection to architecture”, she says. “Above all, the idea was to create an installation that would coalesce with its surroundings, transforming the space into an atmosphere that is at once challenging and familiar”.
Aside from the architectural elements, Vasconcelos’ work deals with feminism as well as social and political issues, including class distinction and national identity. Her creative process is based on using and then subverting pre-existent and everyday objects, which can be seen from some of her most famous pieces to date. In “A Noiva” (The Bride), a 20 ft. high chandelier is made of over 25,000 OB tampons; while “Lilicoptère” (exhibited at the Château de Versailles in 2012) is a helicopter adorned with pink ostrich feathers and Swarovski Crystals; likewise “War Games”, a black Morris Oxford car covered in toy rifles and LEDs filled with brightly colored soft and plastic toys which squeak and move is another prime example. Finally, in “Trafaria Praia” (shown at the 2013 Venice Biennale), Vasconcelos transformed a Lisbon ferry into an installation that made regular tours of the lagoon.
“The aim is to open [the] way for us to look at life through a free, positive and broad view; to create connections with such apparently diverse realities”, Vasconcelos reveals. “Obviously as a woman, I make use of a feminine voice and, thus, resort to realities that are traditionally associated to women”. Relating this feminism to her current series of sculptures, she maintains that her artistic goals are wider than purely highlighting gender. “The ‘Valkyries’ are female deities, and also the textiles and artisanal techniques I use are associable to the female universe, but my aim isn’t feminist in a classical sense”, she says. “What I look for exactly is to demystify the barriers and limits that are traditionally imposed, showing that, independently of being a woman or a man, we should always be capable of discovering new paths, just as the Portuguese navigators did. Monumental art is traditionally an exclusively male territory, but there is no reason for that and my work is proof of that”.
Spanning her considerable cache of art, for the sculptress, her most memorable creations to date have been pieces related to her Portuguese identity, which remain foremost in her memory. “I would say all, but may mention the ‘Trafaria Praia’ having mind that it was presented within the context of the representation of my country and, also, because it was the first artistic project in the history of the Venice Biennale to actually navigate”, Vasconcelos recounts. “I will also highlight ‘A Noiva’ (The Bride). This work marked the beginning of my international career, when it was shown within the exhibition ‘Always a Little Further’, also at La Biennale di Venezia, in 2005. Moreover, something unexpected or unusual usually happens when it is about to be shown”.
Returning to Macau and her upcoming exhibition, what makes Vasconcelos’ latest piece of art so unique in her mind is its singularity, as well as the approach behind it. “It emerged from a very personal viewpoint and reflection, which makes it a singular piece. There is no other and there can’t be any other like it”, she says. Moreover, “It will now interact with MGM’s Grande Praça and will have a particular framing within this scenario; however, once it inhabits other spaces, it will certainly create new relations, even though it’s always the same work. It is also important to underline that the work was all handmade in my studio in Lisbon”, she adds.
Moving to the personal, reflecting on what made her decide to become an artist, and more particularly a sculptor, Vasconcelos puts it down to serendipity. “It’s not something I decided, but something that sort of happened” she says. “I always liked doing things, studied in an arts school, and was born into a very art-friendly environment. In fact, I was very much focused on karate, which I took quite seriously and in a professional manner, until an injury led me to fully dedicate myself to art”.
Thinking about the scale and nature of her work, the sculptress also acknowledges that the idea of space was certainly an influential factor in her creative process. “I have a sort of obsession in exploring the full potential that a space or atmosphere can offer, and perhaps that is why so many of my ideas are translated into sculptures and installations”, she affirms.
Finally, for the Portuguese artist, when contemplating her national identity, inevitably the Lusophone cultural amalgam that Macau represents was likewise an alluring catalyst to explore. “Macau is also particularly important to me because of its richness in cultural exchanges, appropriations and fusions, which is something I focus a lot on throughout my work. It’s very much about a true multiculturalism that ends up creating its own language and culture from mixing and filtering what it absorbs”.
Joana Vasconcelos at MGM Macau will run from 16 March – 31 October 2015.

3 questions to toby leung, vp of marketing & communications

‘MGM’s art proposition is to feature a contemporary artist of world stature’

Since its inaugural “Botticelli’s Venus” exhibition at the MGM Art Space back in 2013, MGM Macau has endeavored to bring creative artistic worldwide events to the city. Continuing in the same spirit, the casino-resort is now dedicated to promoting culturally diverse exchanges that enhance Macau’s offering as a cultural destination with its varied arts program, explained Toby Leung, MGM’s Vice President of Marketing & Communications.

MDT – How did the idea to showcase Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos’ works come about?
Toby Leung – The previous art programs at MGM saw a diversified array of ancient (Botticelli’s Venus), contemporary (Biennale of Lions) and reinvented (Sandalwood Beijing old city gates) artworks gracing the MGM art space. With Macau celebrating the 10th anniversary of its UNESCO association, an art program with strong Portuguese flavor appeared as an ideal option. Also, it is our objective to escalate MGM’s art proposition to feature a contemporary artist of world stature. Joana Vasconcelos perfectly fits this bill.

MDT – What do you hope to achieve through this exhibition?
TL – Through such a rich cultural experience, we aim to inspire people locally, attract art lovers from over the world and spark greater discussion about contemporary art in Macau and beyond. This collaboration also marks the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between local Macanese and Portuguese artists, hopefully leading to further collaboration projects in Macau.

MDT – What is MGM’s main strategy for its arts program?
TL – The vision of the MGM Art Space is to bring to Macau a diversity of art / cultural programs in contributing to its development into a world-recognized tourism and leisure center. With Macau already owning an advantage in being China’s foremost platform in establishing trade ties with Portuguese-speaking nations, this collaboration aims at inspiring art and cultural exchanges between China and Portugal, using the 500-year-old Macau-Portugal relationship as the catalyst. VM