JOANA VASCONCELOS Portugal, b. 1971

Joana Vasconcelos is a Portuguese sculptor known for her extroverted, baroque-style artwork. Born in Paris in 1971, she now resides and creates in Lisbon.

Vasconcelos’s career has spanned nearly 30 years and a variety of media. Recognised for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations, she decontextualises everyday objects and updates the arts and crafts concept for the 21st century, establishing a dialogue between the private sphere and public space, popular heritage and high culture. With humor and irony, she questions the status of women, consumer society and collective identity.

Vasconcelos gained international recognition in 2005 after presenting her piece The Bride at the Venice Biennale. She has returned to the Biennale three times to date, including in 2013 at the helm of Trafaria Praia representing Portugal, with the first ever floating pavilion of the event. In 2012, she was the first woman and youngest artist to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles. In 2018 she became the first Portuguese artist to have a solo show at the Guggenheim Bilbao. In 2023 has a solo exhibition exhibit at the Uffizi Galleries and Pitti Palace, in Florence.

Her works  are part of various international collections, such as the Amorepacific Museum of Art (Seoul), the collection of the city of Lisbon, the city of Paris, the Tia Collection, the Pinault Collection and the Primae Collection (Paris, France). The recipient of more than 30 awards, in 2009 she received the rank of Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic and in 2022 she became an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture.

(Cover quote from an interview with Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel.)