Connecting to something bigger - Joana Vasconcelos an inspiration
Written on 20241108
I went to visit the atelier of a world renown Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos.
Before then I didn’t know anything about her. While visiting a friend who’s an art consultant and the weekend happened to be Lisbon Art Weekend, she says, would you be interested in visiting this atelier? Which I reply sure. I’m always happy to discover new things.
WOW!
The inspiration as you walk into the space.
Her artwork is exposed as you walk in, in the gallery space. Their are bold, audacious, colourful and invite the eye to follow the curiosity and get closer. Not just the eye, the child in me would love to touch and feel the materials.
As we are guided around, we receive a description of the process. Joana listens to what comes through her and in collaboration with the commissioners creates the pieces.
In the middle of the visit, Joana comes by and answers a few of the details.
I asked her, after noticing the intricate details in one of her works in creation, how does she choose what she wants.
Her reply - I’m paraphrasing
It comes through me, I’m connected to something bigger than myself. I create in service to something bigger.
Follow up question:
What do you do to stay connected?
Her answer - I’m paraphrasing
Meditation, yoga, therapist, astrologist. I maintain my spirituality.
Ps. there’s more but I don’t remember them
She’s integrated the spirituality practice within her atelier. All employees have one hour of their paid workday, if they choose, they can participate in the offerings. It’s a whole department of people and space that has been set up for this.
She was contacted by Dior for two different projects in the same year to create in collaboration. She exposed her work as a solo exhibition in the Chateau de Versailles. She gets approached. She attracts people who want to work with her.
Other words that kept coming to mind throughout the visit were: force of nature and abundance.
That’s the kind of business I’m working to create.
Taking care of myself so that I may be in service to my clients in a nourished and resourced way. And for those I’m privileged to work beside to be nourished and resourced too.
There a power in stories.
I loved colaborating with Natalia and Arta in Hong Kong as I learned from her to inquire about the story behind the art and the artist. Humans connect through stories, that’s how we passed down knowledge before writing became a thing. And even in writing we tell stories.
I’m grateful to Natalia for suggesting this tour, to Sarah for sending the details to Natalia, to Koen for the beautiful tour he led, and for sharing his passion and inspiration he feels while working with Joana, and Joana for her incredible work she’s putting out there, and taking the time out from her day to be present with us during the tour and answering our curiosity questions.
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