Art
#cars
#installation
#Joana Vasconcelos
#light
#sculpture
#textiles
![](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-Exhibition-view.-Photo-by-Bruno-Lopes-2.jpg)
Element of “Valkyrie Octopus,” put in at MAAT. Photograph by Bruno Lopes. All pictures © Joana Vasconcelos, courtesy of MAAT, shared with permission
From a towering solitaire diamond ring manufactured from wheels to a sprawling, embellished textile tree, Joana Vasconcelos (previously) is thought for creating monumental sculptures and public artworks that reframe acquainted objects and supplies into hanging installations. Plug-in, a brand new retrospective at MAAT—the Museum of Artwork, Structure, and Know-how—in Lisbon, explores almost three a long time of the Portuguese artist’s complete oeuvre.
Specializing in an undercurrent of electrical energy and energy, Plug-in brings collectively new items in dialogue with earlier works. For instance, two sculptures reimagine classic vehicles: “Drag Race,” an ebulliently baroque Porsche, sports activities gilded woodwork that nods to trace racing, self-expression, and pop-culture phenomena like RuPaul’s Drag Race. “Conflict Video games,” however, is encased in toy rifles in an antagonistic tug-o-war between play and violence. Red LED lights swap on and off repeatedly, and “the inside is crammed with tons of of stuffed toys that wiggle noisily, clamouring for consideration and house,” says a press release.
![A Porsche that has been embellished with gilded woodwork and a red flowing top.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-DragRace2023-©-Lionel-Balteiro-para-Atelier-Joana-Vasconcelos_25.jpg)
“Drag Race” (2023). Photograph by Lionel Balteiro
Vasconcelos typically incorporates textiles into her works, working with beads, brocade, fringe, and all kinds of materials. The lavish “Valkyrie Octopus,” a part of the artist’s expansive Valkyries collection, is proven for the primary time in Europe because it was initially unveiled in Macau. Illuminated with tiny lights, the inflatable type coated in patterns looms throughout all the width of the room. Plug-in invitations guests right into a multi-sensory expertise wherein flashing lights and glossy surfaces query how we outline luxurious and energy.
The exhibition continues in Lisbon by March 31, 2024. And when you’re in Florence, it’s also possible to go to Vasconcelos’ Between Sky and Coronary heart on the Uffizi by January 14. See extra on the artist’s website and Instagram.
![](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-ValkyrieOctopus2015_35-©-Luis-Vasconcelos.jpg)
“Valkyrie Octopus” (2015), put in at MGM Macau. Photograph by Luís Vasconcelos
![A large sculpture of a diamond ring made out of car wheels and glass.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-Exhibition-view.-Photo-by-Bruno-Lopes-3-scaled.jpg)
“Solitaire” (2018). Photograph by Bruno Lopes
![An installation view of a tree sculpture made from fabric.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-Exhibition-view.-Photo-by-Bruno-Lopes-1.jpg)
“Árvore da Vida” (2023). Photograph by Bruno Lopes
![Detail of colorful embellished fabrics.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-ArbreDeVie2023_08©-Didier-Plowy-courtesy-Centre-des-Monuments-Nationaux.jpg)
Element of “Árvore da Vida.” Photograph by Didier Plowy, courtesy of Centre des Monuments Nationaux
![Installation view of two car sculptures.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-Exhibition-view.-Photo-by-Bruno-Lopes-.jpg)
Set up view of “Drag Race” (foreground) and “Conflict Video games.” Photograph by Bruno Lopes
![Two images showing different views of the same piece. A sculpture with lots of car lights on it, with a padded space on one side where someone could step into.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-2up1.jpg)
“Strangers within the Night time” (2000). Photographs by DMF Lisboa
![](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/vasconcelos-Exhibition-view.-Photo-by-Bruno-Lopes-4.jpg)
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” (2019). Photograph by Bruno Lopes
![](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WarGames2011_2-©-DMF-Lisboa.jpg)
“Conflict Video games” (2011). Photograph by DMF Lisboa
![](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WarGames2011_10-©-DMF-Lisboa.jpg)
Element of “Conflict Video games.” Photograph by DMF Lisboa
#cars
#installation
#Joana Vasconcelos
#light
#sculpture
#textiles
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