The Museo comunale d’arte moderna Ascona hosts the first public exhibition in Switzerland by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, one of the most influential voices in the contempo­rary art scene.

As the first woman to have her work exhibited at the Palace of Versailles and at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and having participated in three editions of the Venice Biennale and been featured in prestigious venues worldwide, Joana Vasconcelos is renowned for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations that blend artisanal skill and technical design through a multidisciplinary and experimental approach.

This retrospective exhibition, curated by Mara Folini and Alberto Fiz,  specially conceived for the Museum’s spaces, features a spectacular presentation of 30 works – Including installations, wall pieces, paintings, drawings, videos, and books – that trace the key phases of her creative journey from the early 1990s to the present day.

From the moment of entry, the exhibition is engaging and immersive: visitors are led through Wash and Go, an installation composed of two brightly colored fabric rollers that offer a symbolic regeneration. Immediately afterward, visitors encounter the Valkyrie, titled The Baroness, a ten-meter-tall textile sculp­ture that appears to float in space like a fluid deity.

On the first floor, visitors are greeted by Red Independent Heart#3, standing three meters tall: suspended on its axis, the Heart rotates in a circular motion evoking the cycles of life and eternal return, accompanied by the melancholic sound of Fado.

An intimate sphere with subtle erotic connotations and a touch of ambiguity is expressed in Flowers of My Desire, the piece that gives the exhibition its title. The show also includes a series of works with strong social critique, such as Vista Interior, which addresses consumer culture; Cama Valium, targeting the abuse of pharmaceuticals; Menu do Dia, referencing hunting; and Fashion Victims #2, critiquing the pressures of fashion.

Joana Vasconcelos’s work is distinguished by its interaction with space, contaminating painting, sculpture, and architecture. This process extends to her wall-mounted pieces, as evident in the rare fiberglass and steel compositions of the late 1990s that explore three-dimensionality and challenge traditional abstraction. This approach later leads to works like Miragem, an imposing work where colored wool forms replace the use of paint and brush, as well as Big Booby, a wall sculpture that evokes a large female breast, playing on voyeurism and innuendo.

An entire section of the exhibition is devoted to the Stupid Furni­ture project, which repurposes obsolete or unusable furniture. Through a metamorphic process, the artist reactivates these pieces, creating organic, ironic, and immersive environments.

Joana Vasconcelos transforms objects to create her own visionary universe of strong emotional impact designed to embrace the visitor. The exhibition spaces are secret rooms, connected by a common thread that weaves a cohesive journey, rich in surprises and opportunities to experience a sense of freedom.

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The exhibition in Ascona takes place during the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Locarno Peace Conference (1925), which contributed to a brief period of respite and cooperation between European nations after the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles. Based on the unifying roots of peoples and the exchange of knowledge in the pursuit of a culture that promotes peace, Joana Vasconcelos' exhibition is fully in keeping with the events organized in the Locarno region to commemorate this important historical milestone.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, there will be a series of events, including concerts, performances and dance shows, educational workshops for children and adults, conferences, and a fashion show, in collaboration with institutions and associations rooted in Ticino, including the Compagnia di Teatro Tiziana Arnaboldi and its Teatro San Materno, the Fondazione Monte Verità of Ascona, the Scuola Arti e Mestieri della Sartoria of Lugano and Mario Pagliarani's Teatro del tempo.

Fotografien

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