Artist of the day

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Artist of the Day, September 28, 2022: Joana Vasconcelos, a Portuguese sculptor (#1659)

Joana Vasconcelos (1971) is a Portuguese artist known for her large-scale installations.
She was born in Paris, France. Her family returned home to Portugal after their exile to France and following the Carnation Revolution in 1974. She studied at the Centro de Arte & Comunicação Visual in Lisbon. In 2009 she received the Order of Prince Henry.
Vasconcelos exhibited at the 2005 Venice Biennale where she included A Noiva (The Bride), a 20 ft. high chandelier made of over 14,000 OB Tampons.

In 2012, Vasconcelos showed her work at the major annual contemporary art exhibition in the Palace of Versailles. She was the first woman and the youngest contemporary artist to exhibit in Versailles.

In 2013 the artist represented Portugal in a solo show at the country's pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The work "Trafaria Praia" was installed in an anchored boat and at the same time a floating art gallery.

In 2018 Vasconcelos presented the retrospective exhibition "I'm Your Mirror" at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, in Spain, having been the only Portuguese artist to accomplish the honor. The exhibition comprised 30 works representing 25 years of her artistic career.

In 2020, Vasconcelos created a massive site specific work, "Valkyrie Mumbet" at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Museum (MAAM) in Boston, MA. This exhibition was her first solo show in the United States. The work is part of a series of large scale pieces the artist creates for specific spaces, in homage to inspiring women connected with that location. This particular work honors Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman, an enslaved person in Massachusetts who sued to win her freedom

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Joana Vasconcelos or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Joana Vasconcelos

Artifícios [Artifices], 1995

Wash and Go, 1998

Dorothy, 2007-10

Marilyn, 2009

Valquíria Enxoval [Valkyrie Trousseau], 2009

Pavillon de Vin, 2011

Tutti Frutti, 2011

A Todo o Vapor (Vermelho) [Full Steam Ahead (Red)] Nº 1.3, 2012

Blue Champagne, 2012

Pavillon de Thé, 2012

J'Adore Miss Dior, 2013

Hwarang, 2014

Call Center, 2014-16

Lafite, 2015

Pop Galo [Pop Rooster], 2016

Pop Galo [Pop Rooster], 2016 detail

Choucroute, 2018

Coeur de Paris, 2018

I'll Be Your Mirror Nº 1, 2018

Inséparables, 2018

It's Raining Men, 2018 installation

Gateway, 2019

I'll Be Your Mirror Nº 2, 2019

Simone, 2019

Flower Power, 2020

Valkyrie Mumbet, 2020

Connection, 2021

Spring in My Soul, 2021

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Artist of the Day, September 27, 2022: Violaine & Jérémy Schneider, French graphic designers and illustrators (#1658)

In 2011, Jérémy Schneider and Violaine Orsoni met, fell in love, quit their jobs, and started the Parisian graphic design and illustration studio, Violaine & Jérémy. Here’s how it happened: After graduating from École Professionnelle Supérieure d’Arts graphiques et d’Architecture de la Ville de Paris (EPSAA) with a Master’s in graphic and digital design, Schneider landed a job as an art director at advertising agency Konbini, where Orsoni worked as production manager. At the time, she had been with the agency for four years and was ready for a change. And even from the start, Schneider knew that ultimately, he wasn’t interested in art directing at any agency beside his own.

After working together for just six months, Schneider and Orsoni left and founded their own studio on little more than hope and some chutzpah. With no clients to speak of and an almost non-existent network, they somehow managed to find enough work to get by and build their portfolio, project by project. Each job, no matter how small, became an opportunity to grow their studio and hone the illustrative drawing style and minimal, elegant typography that Violaine & Jérémy are known for.

Now, Schneider and Orsoni can be even more selective than they were when they first started out, and have built a roster of thoughtful and exceptionally well-executed work in art direction, illustration, graphic identity, pattern design, web design, and editorial design for fashion brands (AMI Paris, FrenchTrotters, Le Coq Sportif, La Commune de Paris), cultural institutions (National Orchestra of Lorraine, Amnesty International), print publications (INfluencia, Le Fooding, La Villa Méditerrannée, l’ADN), and music labels (Ekler’o’shock).

Schneider’s black-and-white illustrations, which draw upon influences that date back to Caravaggio, Ingres, and Ernest Pignon-Ernest, are perhaps the most distinctive element in their body of work. Many of his characters come straight out of French history books or works by Nietzsche, Fourier, or Schopenhauer—often with added nuances and eccentric wardrobes to help tell their stories. Drawn in felt pen, black chalk, or colored pencil, the illustrations are as meticulous as they are expressive.

But these illustrations are far more than mere ornamentation; they’re at the heart of what Violaine & Jérémy do. Each project begins with and revolves around a unique drawing. In addition to some of our favorites (above), take a moment to peruse their full body of work, and keep an eye out (or peeled here) for their upcoming projects.

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Violaine & Jérémy Schneider or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only