BRAGA – Joana Vasconcelos exhibits sculpture made with 255 baroque frames in Braga

Braga City Council and Sonae Sierra will inaugurate on the 9th, at 11:30 am, in Praça do Comércio, the sculpture ‘l’Il Be Your Mirror #1, 2018’, by artist Joana Vasconcelos. The work is part of the Sonae Sierra collection and was transferred to the municipality until December 2025.

The municipality states that the objective “is to promote cultural and tourist interaction” in the Praça – Municipal Market area.

“The insertion of this work of art by the Portuguese artist in Praça do Comércio corresponds to the central objective of guaranteeing new dynamics of revitalization of the Braga Municipal Market itself, promoting greater connection to the community and guaranteeing more cultural, gastronomic and tourist experiences”, adds the municipality, which announces the artist’s presence at the inauguration.

The sculpture ‘l’Il Be Your Mirror #1, 2018′ is available for public viewing, with free access. Throughout the piece’s duration, several activities are organized to provide insight into Joana Vasconcelos’ creative process.

Joana Vasconcelos highlights the “joy” of having the piece in the city of Braga, a piece that portrays the “moment in which the artist reveals himself, the lowering of the mask allows us to show who we truly are, and that acquisition allowed us to show who I was at the Guggenheim ”.

“For me, as a Portuguese artist, it is also very important that my works are acquired in my country and reside there. It continues to be a great joy to know that this particular piece is found in the north of Portugal”, says the artist, adding that “the frames that make it up were designed by me in the spirit of the Baroque, which continues to be one of the greatest inspirations for my work and that it has such strong roots in Braga”.

THE PIECE

Alluding to the role of artists in society, Joana Vasconcelos ends up creating a game of concealment.

Using 255 baroque bronze frames (designed and decorated by the artist) and 510 mirrors superimposed as if they were scales, he constructs a surprising Venetian mask.

Through a sculptural piece that adapts to both exterior and interior spaces, it establishes a dialogue with the reflection of the surroundings. The public who wants to find their returned image is invited to discover that “there is only reflection when there is parallelism” as the artist explains.

Taken from the song of the same name, composed by Lou Reed and performed by the Velvet Underground and singer Nico, the title also served as the theme for his solo exhibition at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.