... with Joana Vasconcelos

... with Joana Vasconcelos

In this episode of WAS MIT KUNST, Johann König is in conversation with artist Joana Vasconcelos.

With a career spanning over 30 years and a huge variety of media, Joana Vasconcelos (b. 1971, in Paris) is a Portuguese visual artist recognised for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations. Her artworks are represented in major collections such as those of François Pinault, Louis Vuitton and the Rothschild Foundation, while her public artworks grace Jupiter Artland, the city of Paris or Waddesdon Manor. Present at São Paulo Biennial, Art Basel or Artgenève, for instance, she has exhibited four times at the Venice Biennale, was the first woman and youngest artist in Versailles and held important solo shows at Guggenheim Bilbao, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Uffizi Galleries.

For a decade now, Joana Vasconcelos has developed a series of artworks inspired by the reflection upon the element of water and the sustainability of our planet. And for her presentation "Surrealist Bathroom", she created an old-style bathtub completely covered in plug holes, unable to contain water and, therefore, defeating the very purpose it has been created for. Completed with a shower head and a metal chain, it reminds us that water is a luxury we should treasure. A group of works belonging to various series - Showers, Washbasins and Urinals - in which Joana Vasconcelos adds colourful crocheted elements to household sanitary ware. Resorting to crochet, Joana refers to the intimacy of the domestic realm through its link to female labour at home. The colourful, soft and pliable fabrics contrast with the hard, sterile coldness of the surfaces they encounter. Through a disruptive process of transformation, the artist encourages a fresh look at these everyday objects.

In the podcast, König and Vasconcelos speak about how she got into art and developed her visual language, the art of crochet, and the concept behind her dedicated booth in the showroom at KÖNIG GALERIE.

Learn more about the artist HERE View the showroom presentation HERE