The Lisbon-based artist Joana Vasconcelos is organising a selling exhibition of more than 40 of her own works at Phillips in London next month. The “vast majority” of pieces are being made for the exhibition, according to Matt Carey-Williams, the deputy chairman of the auction house.
As a gallery normally would, Phillips is sharing the cost of the show with the artist (who does not have representation in London), including contributing to the fabrication of the works. “[The aim] is not to transform us from an auction house into something else, it’s about working with an artist in a meaningful and financially viable way,” Carey-Williams says. “Increasingly we see collectors less interested in how one buys or sells art—whether that be at auction, in a gallery, at an art fair or online. Their main focus remains access to the highest quality works by the artists they admire, not the platform that provides that access.”
Although, as Carey-Williams notes, the 9,300 sq. ft, exhibition space on the ground floor at Phillips, which has floor-to-ceiling windows, “bowled Joana over”. Here Vasconcelos will suspend from the ceiling a new fabric sculpture from her ongoing Valkyries series, which draws on the female figures of Norse mythology who flew over battlefields to choose which of the fallen Vikings were worthy of a place in Valhalla. Another work in the series is currently on show at MGM in Macau (until 31 October).
Other works due to go on show in Material World (15 July-28 August) include ceramic animals sheathed in crocheted lace, fabric paintings in antique frames and Tetris sculptures created from traditional Portuguese tiles. Prices range from €8,000 to €650,000.
