Exhibitions
Joana Vasconcelos dresses the universe of Valentino in a confluence of art and haute couture
The intersection of fashion and art takes on a monumental dimension in VENUS – Valentino Garavani through the eyes of Joana Vasconcelos , an exhibition that transforms the creative universe of one of the great names in international haute couture into a territory of artistic exploration. The project arrives at the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology) in Lisbon with an adapted version of the original proposal developed by PM23 | Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti, in collaboration with Valentino SpA. The exhibition, initially conceived for the cultural space that Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti created in Rome, where it premiered in January 2016, begins a new phase in Lisbon, adapting to the architecture and spatial characteristics of the Portuguese museum.
Joana Vasconcelos's vision offers a fresh perspective on Valentino's legacy, forging connections between the sophistication of haute couture, the memory of materials, and the expressive power of contemporary sculpture. The Portuguese artist, internationally renowned for her monumental installations and a visual language that blends tradition, craftsmanship, popular culture, and references to contemporary society, has conceived a site-specific exhibition for Galleries 1 and 2 of the MAAT. The itinerary brings together iconic works and new creations inspired by the Italian designer's imagination, displayed alongside more than forty haute couture and ready-to-wear pieces by Valentino Garavani.
The conceptual core of the exhibition revolves around Valkyrie Venus, an imposing textile sculpture created in 2025 that lends its name to the project and constitutes its symbolic heart. Conceived as a reflection on Valentino's legacy, the work displays Vasconcelos's characteristic monumentality and situates the textile universe at the intersection of artistic creation and fashion. Fabric, understood as material, language, and cultural construct, acquires a sculptural dimension that transcends its traditional function to become an element of visual thought.
Among the new works, Venus stands out, belonging to the Crochet Paintings series, in which the artist transforms textile work into a pictorial surface. The piece references a motif by Josef Hoffmann featured in the Valentino Garavani Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1989-1990 collection, establishing a link between design history, ornamentation, and the contemporary reinterpretation of artisanal techniques. Also included is Sacro Cuore, a suspended textile sculpture that expands the expressive possibilities of the materials and reinforces the symbolic and emotional dimension of the exhibition.
The exhibition also includes some of Joana Vasconcelos's most recognizable works. Among them is Marilyn, the monumental high-heeled shoes constructed from pots and lids, an intervention that questions the codes of femininity and objects associated with the domestic sphere. Also featured is Jardim do Éden, an immersive installation that invites visitors to enter a labyrinth of artificial flowers, as well as Coração Independente #3, a sculpture made with plastic cutlery that recreates the silhouette of the traditional heart of Viana do Caramiñal, a symbol of Portuguese popular culture.
Through this encounter, the exhibition proposes more than just an exploration of the relationship between fashion and art. Valentino's formal sophistication and Vasconcelos's creative freedom meet in a space where fabrics, volumes, ornamentation, and everyday objects acquire new meanings. Haute couture ceases to be merely an expression of technical and aesthetic excellence, engaging instead in dialogue with an artistic practice that reclaims the materiality, memory, and poetic potential of objects.
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