Embroidery and Portuguese art

Olá! This morning I waited almost two hours to visit the exhibition of Joana Vasconcelos, one of the most creative contemporaneous Portuguese artists. And I have to say that every detail was worth the wait.

Her exhibitions have the particularity of interacting with the spaces in a very special way. Last year she was the first woman and young artist to see her creations exhibited in Versailles (Paris) and that exhibition ended being the most visited in the last 50 years in Paris. Follow this link and you'll find incredibly beautiful images of how her work fits each place in such a marvelous scenario as Versailles.

But today I visited her work in Portugal! In a Royal Palace - Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, where we could confront the "Royal Life" of some of Portuguese last kings and queens with the irreverence and creativity of a contemporaneous artist - it's an incredible experience so different from an exhibition in a gallery...

One of the other characteristics of her work is the special way how she mixes different Portuguese materials and techniques. Each detail of these pieces are full of meaning to the Portuguese people and make us very proud of our culture - what is not so common among us, I have to say...

One of the most popular works are those made of ceramics and crochet, two very traditional Portuguese crafts.  And also the traditional Portuguese hearts, from Minho region, present in our embroidery and jewelry, and reinvented by her using plastic cutlery.

But today I bring you some photos of the "Royal Valkyrie". I've already talked about another Valkyrie, while presenting Nisa Embroiderers. Part of this sculpture was made by women from Nisa, using their talent in appliqué embroidery - one of the traditional techniques from this region.

It's impossible to explain the impact of this sculpture and any photo will not be able to show it...  Here you'll find a video and some better photos, but still it is so different to be there...

Enjoy...

Royal Valkyrie - general view

Royal Valkyrie - Nisa appliqué embroidery

Royal Valkyrie - three pieces of Nisa's embroidery

Royal Valkyrie - detail of the work of women from Nisa.

I hope you've liked it!