#relacoespublicas #rp #rpmoda #pr #publicrelations » 2015 Março 11 » Joana Vasconcelos at MGM MACAU
16:08 Joana Vasconcelos at MGM MACAU | |
 MGM MACAU announces a major exhibition of new monumental work by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos specifically created for the Grande Praça at the heart of MGM MACAU. This latest addition to its visionary art programme reflects on Macau’s integral role in the 500 year history of trade between China, Portugal and the rest of the world. It continues in this spirit to promote culturally diverse exchanges that reflect Macau’s offer as a cultural destination of world repute.As a young, yet already internationally celebrated artist, this will be Joana Vasconcelos’ first solo exhibition in China. She has exhibited extensively at numerous editions of the Venice Biennale including Trafaria Praia, her project for the Pavilion of Portugal in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions also include; Château de Versailles, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Palácio Nacional da Ajuda (Lisbon), as well an exhibition of works from the François Pinault Collection at Gucci Museo. Her magnificent works are distinguished by their monumental scale, mixed use of appropriated materials and mastery of organic form, colour and artisanal techniques. Comprising solely new works that were specially conceived for the space, the exhibition is the most ambitious in the artist’s practice to date and also MGM MACAU’s art programme. This notably featured an experiential display of Botticelli’s Venus (2013) and more recently La Biennale des Lions (2014) that celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and France. In this location inspired installation, Vasconcelos draws from the marine and the maritime, and connects with the Portuguese heritage of Macau. It was here in the 16th century AD that Emperor Ming invited Portuguese merchants to settle, and from where they traded between China and the rest of the world. Joana Vasconcelos brings to Macau a magical universe of cultural exchanges and meeting of opposites. Central to the exhibition is Valkyrie Octopus, the largest piece to date in her iconic Valkyries series which has been the nucleus of the artist’s practice since 2004. This amorphous organic form hangs from the skylight dome of MGM MACAU’s central atrium. The various textures and richness of detail in the piece result from Vasconcelos’ practice of appropriating textiles and ornaments of different origins. She combines artisanal techniques such as crochet and Nisa embroidery (from the Alto Alentejo region of Portugal) with thousands of LED lights and boldly coloured, patterned materials embellished by various kind of beads in a patchwork of patterns, shapes and textures. The Valkyries series is inspired by the feminine figures of Norse mythology who flew over battlefields in order to select the bravest and most valorous warriors. Similarly the amorphous bodily form of Valkyrie Octopus presides like a guardian over the space in prospection of noble material for divine tasks. Evoking the good fortune associated with the number eight, several elongated tentacles burst from the main body, reaching across to other works, embracing the aquarium at the centre of the Grande Praça. The artist offers visitors the opportunity to become part of the artwork with three large-scale floor sculptures from the Tetris series: Chiado, Alfama and Madragoa upon which viewers can sit and contemplate, from three perspectives, the exhibition that envelopes them. These works explore the intersections of sculpture, architecture and painting. The artist draws on the Grande Praça’s unique characteristics, with its prominent façades inspired by iconic Portuguese buildings. The titles refer to Lisbon’s main historic neighbourhoods and the works are clad in handmade tiles (Azulejos) complete with motifs and themes common in Portuguese and Hispano-Moresque tile work. Tubes and protuberances in crochet and exuberantly coloured fabric spill from the structure into the surrounding space. This majestic installation perambulates, embraces and transforms the Grande Praça into a magical, yet familiar world.  #JoanaVasconcelos | |
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