«MON holds the largest solo exhibition by Joana Vasconcelos in Brazil. From November 23rd, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum will take its audience immersion into the magical world of Portuguese Joana Vasconcelos. “Extravagances” is the artist’s largest solo exhibition in Brazil and one of the biggest ever held by MON.
“The eye, ramp, Araucária spaces and floors of the tower were occupied by the color and creativity of this artist who lives and works in Lisbon, but whose art goes beyond the limits of Portugal and Europe and fascinates the public from several continents”, explains the director -president of the Museum, Juliana Vosnika. “Monumental installations and sculptures go beyond the space and invade the MON, inviting the visitor to immerse in a universe never before created in the Museum”.
Her “Valkyrie Miss Dior”, an internationally famous work, is the attraction of the museum's most noble exhibition space. With stratospheric dimensions (approximately 7 meters high and more than 20 meters long), the incredible work mixes handmade wool crochet, fabrics and polyester, suspended on steel cables, in a unique piece. “Another highlight is the ‘Valquíria Matarazzo’, which welcomes the public, installed on the main access ramp to the Museum, at the visitor entrance, a place never before used as an exhibition space”, says Juliana.
Visual artist Joana Vasconcelos declares: «I'm very happy to return to Brazil and be able to bring together my last Valkyrie (Miss Dior) with the one I created for Matarazzo in 2014, in a very interesting dialogue not only between the two works but also with the architecture of the museum. I also designed, especially for MON and for the first time in my career, an exhibition of models that will allow us to explore the connection between a work of art and space and architecture, an idea that arose from the privilege of exhibiting at “Niemeyer's Eye”».
Curation –
The curator of the exhibition, Frenchman Marc Pottier, states that “Extravaganzas”, by Joana Vasconcelos, transcends baroque and kitsch. “After the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Chateau de Versailles, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice”, the artist presents her first museum exhibition in Brazil”, he informs. He explains that the gigantic installation "Valkyrie Miss Dior" was created this year by the artist for the Dior fashion show in Paris and currently appears in the brand's windows in various locations around the world. “It is a work that challenges all artistic trends and breaks the monotony of an aesthetic”, says the curator.
“The selection of models from his main site-specific projects carried out around the world allows us to capture the breadth of an extraordinary personality that seems to have the sky as its limit”, he comments. In addition to the Eye and the Museum's ramp, the artist's work occupies the floors of the Araucária tower and spaces, where the public can see works such as “Pantelmina”, “Big Booby”, models of the iconic “Solitário”, “Castiçais”, “ Gateway”, “Wedding Cake”, “Mask” and “Shoe”, as well as several panels.
ABOUT THE MON
The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) is a state heritage site linked to the State Secretariat for Culture. The institution houses important references of national and international artistic production in the areas of visual arts, architecture and design, in addition to large Asian and African collections. In total, the collection has approximately 14 thousand works of art, housed in a space of more than 35 thousand square meters of built area, which makes MON the largest art museum in Latin America.»
“Extravagances”, by Joana Vasconcelos
Opening: November 23, 2023, at 7:00 pm
Until May 2024 Eye, ramp, tower and Araucária spaces 1 and 2
