Recommended by Joana Vasconcelos
Joana Vasconcelos was born in 1971 in Paris. She lives and works in Lisbon. She has exhibited regularly since the mid-1990s. Her work became known internationally after her participation in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005, with the work A Noiva [The Bride] (2001-05). She was the first woman and the youngest artist to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles, in 2012. Recent highlights of her career include a solo exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2018), the project Trafaria Praia (2013), for the Pavilion of Portugal at the 55th Venice Biennale; the participation in the group exhibition The World Belongs to You at the Palazzo Grassi/François Pinault Foundation, Venice (2011); and her first retrospective, held at the Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon (2010).
In 2020, she became the first Portuguese artist ever to be invited to exhibit at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, with “Beyond”, and is preparing her most challenging project so far: a sculpture/building for Waddesdon Manor and The Rothschild Foundation, The Wedding Cake.
Exhibition view: Zaha Hadid, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, 2006 © David M Heald
What is your favourite art space to visit? Somewhere you have been that had brought you joy.
The Guggenheim New York, because it is a reference when it comes to architecture and also when it comes to art, bringing both together beautifully. And it challenges the artists to think about their work in relationship to the architecture as no other. The Zaha Hadid exhibition I saw there did bring me joy.
What have you seen in the past year which made you think you are looking at a new way of experiencing art? This can be an artwork, an exhibition, or a space.
Left: ICA Boston. Right: Yoyi Kusama, Love is Calling, 2013
In February I visited the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston and really enjoyed “Love is Calling” by Yayoi Kusama, in which she proceeds to recreate the infinity inside a box. It’s a very sensorious experience, with colour, light and sound, and although I am familiar with her work, experiencing infinity is always amazing. And I thought it was also quite interesting the way they curated the space around the installation, bringing together different dimensions and generations through a common theme, adding to her contribution.
What show, gallery, institution or museum have you visited that you thought was worth the travel?
The Taj Mahal © Paul Dufour
The Taj Mahal. I have been in India earlier this year and I was truly amazed to see such an art work, above all, capturing the true essence of art, also in its relationship with architecture. It’s incredibly rich in detail, an outstanding temple and a celebration of love.
If time and budget were not an obstacle, where would you like to visit?
Japan. Tokyo. Actually, there’s an amazing Island dedicated to arts, Naoshima, with a truly remarkable open air collection. I would love to go back there.
In your opinion, which city, other than London, Berlin or New York, has a really interesting and exciting art scene?
I would say São Paulo. It doesn’t stand out as a beautiful city but it has a very dynamic art scene, with galleries, museums, studios and the biennale.
If the world were coming to an end, and there was space for only one museum collection on the spaceship, which collection would you nominate and why?
The Louvre collection, no doubt. It’s the most complete in the world, truly breathtaking.
Views of São Paulo. Left: Cityscape. Right: Batman Alley, São Paulo.