The Guggenheim Bilbao presented I'm Your Mirror, the first solo exhibition by a Portuguese artist at the museum and the first anthological exhibition dedicated to Joana Vasconcelos in Spain. With a total number of 649,082 visitors, it was the third most viewed show in the museum's history.
Curated by Petra Joos and Enrique Juncosa, the exhibition brought together around 30 works and a site-specific installation for the museum's central atrium, the Egeria valkyrie (in honour of the first female traveller from that region) specially designed to dialogue with the architecture of Frank Ghery. The title for the exhibition came from the song I’m Your Mirror (composed by Lou Reed, performed by Velvet Underground and singer Nico), as the visual artist reflected upon the role of representing society attributed to the creators of each historical time.
Vasconcelos’s production contains references both to the popular culture of her country (appropriating the rooster of Barcelos, the heart of Viana do Castelo, and the ceramics of Bordalo Pinheiro) and to the most recent theoretical debates in contemporary art, especially those concerned with fostering viewer participation in the interpretation of artworks. The artist uses many materials from everyday life, such as household appliances, wall tiles, fabrics, medicines, urinals, pans, and plastic cutlery, exploiting the narrative and emotional charge they hold or release. Her sculptures, usually large-format works that sometimes have movement, sound, or lights are characterised by their chromatic richness and their exuberance. With an attractive sense of humour that shuns dogmatism, her work also explores issues of identity ranging from very intimate questions to universal sociopolitical themes linked to globalised postcolonial societies, such as migration or the exploitation of women.
Learn more on the Guggenheim site.
