Joana Vasconcelos’ ‘Plug-in’ Retrospective Buzzes with Three Decades of Energy and Power

Detail of “Valkyrie Octopus,” installed at MAAT. Photo by Bruno Lopes. All images © Joana Vasconcelos, courtesy of MAAT, shared with permission

From a towering solitaire diamond ring made of wheels to a sprawling, embellished textile tree, Joana Vasconcelos (previously) is known for creating monumental sculptures and public artworks that reframe familiar objects and materials into striking installations. Plug-in, a new retrospective at MAAT—the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology—in Lisbon, explores nearly three decades of the Portuguese artist’s comprehensive oeuvre.light

Focusing on an undercurrent of electricity and power, Plug-in brings together new pieces in dialogue with earlier works. For example, two sculptures reimagine vintage cars: “Drag Race,” an ebulliently baroque Porsche, sports gilded woodwork that nods to track racing, self-expression, and pop-culture phenomena like RuPaul’s Drag Race. “War Games,” on the other hand, is encased in toy rifles in an antagonistic tug-o-war between play and violence. Red LED lights switch on and off continuously, and “the interior is filled with hundreds of stuffed toys that wiggle noisily, clamouring for attention and space,” says a statement.

 

“Drag Race” (2023). Photo by Lionel Balteiro

Vasconcelos often incorporates textiles into her works, working with beads, brocade, fringe, and a wide variety of fabrics. The lavish “Valkyrie Octopus,” part of the artist’s expansive Valkyries series, is shown for the first time in Europe since it was originally unveiled in Macau. Illuminated with tiny lights, the inflatable form coated in patterns looms across the entire width of the room. Plug-in invites visitors into a multi-sensory experience in which flashing lights and shiny surfaces question how we define luxury and power.

The exhibition continues in Lisbon through March 31, 2024. And if you’re in Florence, you can also visit Vasconcelos’ Between Sky and Heart at the Uffizi through January 14. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

“Valkyrie Octopus” (2015), installed at MGM Macau. Photo by Luís Vasconcelos

“Solitaire” (2018). Photo by Bruno Lopes

“Árvore da Vida” (2023). Photo by Bruno Lopes

Detail of “Árvore da Vida.” Photo by Didier Plowy, courtesy of Centre des Monuments Nationaux

Installation view of “Drag Race” (foreground) and “War Games.” Photo by Bruno Lopes

“Strangers in the Night” (2000). Photos by DMF Lisboa

“I’ll Be Your Mirror” (2019). Photo by Bruno Lopes

“War Games” (2011). Photo by DMF Lisboa

Detail of “War Games.” Photo by DMF Lisboa

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An Arresting Optic Nerve Tops the 2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

Hassanain Qambari and Jayden Dickson, rodent optic nerve head showing astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red), and retinal vasculature (green). All images courtesy of Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, shared with permission

One in five people with diabetes also suffers from retinopathy, a disease causing vision loss and blindness. Problems occur when high blood sugar causes cells to swell and leak, damaging the retina. Because symptoms aren’t always perceptible at early stages, though, many people aren’t diagnosed until the condition has already progressed.

Researchers like Hassanain Qambari and Jayden Dickson have been working toward visualizing the initial signs of retinopathy to aid in early detection, which they recently achieved in an electrifying image that won the 2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. A starburst-like web of red and yellow fibers sprawl across the frame, which magnifies the intricacies of a rodent’s optic nerve and offers insight into its function. “The visual system is a complex and highly specialized organ, with even relatively minor perturbations to the retinal circulation able to cause devastating vision loss,” Qambari said. “I entered the competition as a way to showcase the complexity of retinal microcirculation.”

Other submissions to the 49th-annual contest include the venomous fangs of a tarantula, gelatinous slime molds, and spiky sunflower pollen stuck to an acupuncture needle. The 2023 competition garnered nearly 1,900 submissions from 72 countries, and you can see all of the winners on Nikon. It’s also worth taking a peek at the video segment of this year’s contest, which includes striking footage of neurons forming in an embryo.

 

Sébastien Malo, crab spider (Thomisus onustus)

Dr. Pichaya Lertvilai, coral (Acropora granulosa) fluorescing under blue light

John-Oliver Dum, venomous fangs of a small tarantula

John-Oliver Dum, sunflower pollen on an acupuncture needle

Malgorzata Lisowska, breast cancer cells

Raghuram Annadana, developing stamen and stigma inside a Hibiscus flower bud

Timothy Boomer, slime mold (Comatricha nigra) showing capillitial fibers through its translucent peridium

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In Paris, Zanele Muholi’s Bronze Sculptures Summon the Stories of Black Queer South Africans

All images © Zanele Muholi, courtesy of Paris + par Art Basel, shared with permission

South African artist Zanele Muholi (previously) has spent the better part of their career challenging portraiture traditions. Often working with quotidian objects and black-and-white photography, Muholi’s works center themself and Black queer people who have long been omitted from the canon. In recent years, they’ve begun to create bronze sculptures with similar motives, some of which are on view now at The Jardin des Tuileries.

Part of Paris + par Art Basel, Muholi’s The Politics of Black Silhouettes encompasses a series of figurative works positioned alongside statues by art historical greats like Auguste Rodin and Alberto Giacometti. While the previously installed sculptures are often presented on pedestals in stately positions, Muholi’s rest directly on the ground, exploring notions of value and reverence. One work depicts a figure sleeping softly on their side, while another shows a subject bound to a chair with belt-like restraints, their hands and feet anxious to move. The artist’s intent is corrective and “to rewrite a Black queer and trans visual history of South Africa for the world to know of our resistance and existence at the height of hate crimes in South Africa and beyond.”

The Politics of Black Silhouettes is on view through October 31. Explore more of Muholi’s works across mediums on Instagram.

 

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Sumito Sakakibara Plumbs Memory and Time in His Animated Film ‘Iizuna Fair,’ On View for a Limited Time

One night, a man’s car goes off the road. His life flashes before him, as the synopsis of “Iizuna Fair” says, “In the midst of the frenzy night, a man finds himself lost in the crevasse of time.” Dreamlike scenes unfold in filmmaker Sumito Sakakibara’s poignant short film as it pans across the anonymous protagonist’s buried memories, inhibitions, and unkept promises, as he realizes, “he was the phantom.”

In hand-painted frames that merge gradually from one scene to the next, Sakakibara taps into the nuances of nostalgia, human experience, regret, grief, and what it means to truly be alive. Seemingly unrelated scenes unfold simultaneously, dipping in and out of different time periods and events, centering around a fair that has come to the town of Iizuna. Watch from beginning to end, and you’ll witness how Sakakibara composed the film into an infinite loop.

“Iizuna Fair” was commissioned by Nagano Prefectural Art Museum, where it is currently on view on a massive 26-meter-wide, L-shaped screen, and you can also watch the animation above through December 15. See more on the artist’s Vimeo and website.

 

All images © Sumito Sakakibara

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A Sprawling Nest of Vintage Wooden Chairs Perches on Liaigre’s Facade in Paris

All images © Tadashi Kawamata, courtesy the artist and Mennour, Paris, shared with permission

Constructed with an intuitive weaving process evocative of birds, Tadashi Kawamata’s “Nest in Liaigre” is a sprawling, site-specific installation that questions how we interact with our built environments. The towering work perches on the side of the Liaigre architecture firm and winds inside the Paris studio, creating a spiral maze of wooden chairs and furniture that flows between the facade and interior. Using humble, vintage materials, Kawamata invites viewers to relax and socialize within the cozy space, while exploring the links between art and architecture.

“Nest in Liaigre” is on view through March 25, 2024, as part of Paris + par Art Basel. Find more of Kawamata’s works on Instagram.

 

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Everyday Activities Revolve Around Interiors in Cinta Vidal’s Dizzying Oil Paintings

“Eames” (2023), oil on canvas, 100 x 100 centimeters. All images © Cinta Vidal, courtesy of Thinkspace, shared with permission

Known for her perspective-bending murals (previously), Cinta Vidal explores the nuances of interiors and the myriad ways we interact within architecture in Cohabit, a new body of work presented with Thinkspace Projects in New York. “I’m intrigued by the relationship that people establish between themselves and their immediate surroundings, and now I’m zooming in to find out what’s going on in there,” Vidal says. “In contrast to my most recent works, where I played with darkness, I now strongly illuminate the scenes, which take on more vitality.”

The artist’s background in scenography and set design lends itself to a natural curiosity about how people move around and connect in different places. Notable art and architecture plays a key role in Vidal’s recent paintings, from the seminal Eames House, also known as Case Study House No. 8, to paintings by the likes of Piet Mondrian, the cool tiles of a subway station, or a Renaissance arcade in a public square.

Vidal’s paintings flirt with perception, filling private rooms and public areas with figures who barely adhere to the laws of gravity. Each composition can be flipped or turned onto its side to reveal parallel narratives unfolding in the same space, suggesting overlapping layers of time. In “Eames,” for example, people and furnishings wander up one of the walls and onto the ceiling, while in “Room,” the composition can be arranged on any of its four sides. The artist achieves this balance by anchoring paintings, corners, and windows around a central vanishing point.

Cohabit goes on view for four days only, from October 18 to 21, at a Thinkspace Projects pop-up location on Broome Street. Find more on Vidal’s website and Instagram.

 

“Avenue” (2023), oil on canvas, 80 × 80 centimeters

“Hotel” (2023), oil on canvas, 73 × 61 centimeters

“Plaza” (2023), oil on canvas, 61 × 61 centimeters

“Subway” (2023), oil on canvas, 73 × 92 centimeters

“Museum” (2023), oil on canvas, 61 × 61 centimeters

“Parlor” (2023), oil on canvas, 100 × 100 centimeters

“Room” (2023), oil on canvas, 100 × 100 centimeters

“Atelier” (2023), oil on canvas, 81 × 100 centimeters

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To the Rainbow Realm! Technology and Magic Merge in ‘Feltopia,’ the First Felted Stop-Motion Video Game

Photos by Sarah Wright. All images © Andrea Love and Andy Katsikapes, shared with permission

“Set in a dreamy, fluffy world, the wizard Skyrider is facing the ramifications of a giant technological glitch that forced civilization up into the clouds,” says a synopsis of artist Andrea Love’s new video game, Feltopia. Your mission? Fly on a trusty steed named Cumulus “through a world of wizards, robots, and magical creatures—clearing the way towards the rainbow realm, where a mysterious mega-bot is threatening to consume the whole spectrum.”

Known for her meticulously detailed stop-motion animations using wool, Love (previously) embarks on an ambitious collaborative project to transform her felted stories into an interactive game. Just launched on Kickstarter, the project aims to roll out initially on iOS and expand to more platforms as funding allows. Love joins seasoned game designer Andy Katsikapes, who invited sound and music designers Peter Michael Davison and Richard Gould to build a world frame-by-frame, combining playable elements with hand-felted compositions and stop-motion techniques.

Get involved with the Kickstarter campaign, and learn more about Love’s work on her website, Vimeo, and Instagram.

 

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