... 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](https://www.koeniggalerie.com/collections/joana-vasconcelos)
View the showroom presentation
[HERE](https://www.koeniggalerie.com/blogs/exhibitions/showroom-presentation)