Loving Portuguese Artist Joana

I have been following Joana Vasconcelos fabulous work for several years. Joana is Portuguese artist born in Paris in 1971 and first came to global attention at the 2005 Venice Biennale with her work A Noiva (The Bride). It consists of a 5 foot chandelier made entirely from 25,000 tampons!!She was the first female artist to be invited to show work at The Palace of Versailles in 2012 and is the sole Portuguese representative of The Venice Biennale 2013. I find it fascinating how she incorporates household objects such as spoons and pot lids, traditional Portuguese crafts such as crochet, filigree and ceramics into her work. Many of her pieces are giant crochet and knitted objects dangling from ceilings. You'll see below with only some images of her work just how crazily creative she is. The rest, jump on her website.

Lilicoptere 2012

Bell 47 helicopter adorned with ostrich feathers, Swarovski crystals, gold leaf, industrial coating, dyed leather upholstery embossed with fine gold, Arraiolos rugs, walnut wood, wood grain painting, passementerie.
Love it.....a ride anyone??

Marilyn 2011

Giant shoes made from stainless steel pans and lids.......go figure!

Piano Dentelle 2008-2011

Steingraeber & Söhne baby grand piano, piano stool covered in handmade cotton crochet.

Imagine one of these in your home!

Vasconcelos’ art practice is characterized by a decontextualisation of the familiar - be they household objects, plastic spoons or national icons - and the deconstruction of how we identify things, particularly gender, class, and nationality. There is a political current to Vasconcelos’ work: the revolution of 1974 and the stifling patriarchal culture of the Salazar years form the backdrop and counterpoint to her ferociously energetic reinvention of Portuguese, and specifically femaShe has inherited and assimilated the visual language and themes of Duchamp’s readymade; the pop art of mass consumption exemplified by Warhol and Oldenburg; and the subversive, at times humorous, feminist voices of Louise Bourgeois and Eva Hesse.(From her biography)

If you're in Europe or heading there this month, her current exhibtions are in Venice, Palma de Malorca Spain and the Gucci Museo in Florence. Details on her website. http://www.joanavasconcelos.com/index.aspx 
I hope you get a chance one day to view her work.  It is well worth it.
Gessica