Known for transforming everyday objects into monumental installations, her work crosses craftsmanship and popular culture. She incorporates social critique, addressing themes such as identity, gender, collective memory, and cultural heritage. Her creations feature a distinctly Baroque aesthetic.

One of the exhibitions is a group show titled “Bonnes Mères” (Good Mothers), which opened in the middle of this month and will be on display at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations in Marseille until the end of August 2026.

This group exhibition, focused on the theme of motherhood and exploring different cultural and historical perspectives, features Joana Vasconcelos in dialogue with other artists. She contributes her approach, which “manages to connect the intimate to the spectacular, the domestic to the architectural.”

In addition to the Marseille show, the artist is preparing “L’Absurde et le Rêve”, a major summer exhibition with Belgian artist Arne Quinze, which will take place in Villefranche-sur-Mer between June and October 2026.

This project, carried out in collaboration with the Belgian sculptor Arne Quinze, proposes an immersive experience that explores the dialogue between surrealism, nature and poetic imagination, according to a Forbes article featuring an interview with Joana Vasconcelos.

In her statements, the artist emphasises that the starting point of her works is always conceptual and emotional, and that she only moves forward when she believes the piece has meaning and that it “will make the world a better place.”

The scale, although often monumental, only emerges at a later stage of the process, and inspiration comes from everyday life – people, experiences, culture – materialising in works such as the “Valkyries” series, which combines textiles and industrial elements to create connections between tradition and contemporaneity, honouring female figures and revitalising forgotten spaces and memories, she explained.