Descripción de la Exposición ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- The ambitious exhibition project proposed for Versailles, curated by Jean-François Chougnet, establishes a selective choice of works to be exhibited both inside the palace and in its gardens, bringing together new works, specifically conceived for the exhibition, and already existing ones of outstanding significance in the artist's body of work. There will be three axes guiding the exhibition in the Palace's indoor spaces: Galerie des Glaces, Grand Appartement de la Reine and Galerie des Batailles. Some of the artist's most important monumental projects will occupy the surrounding gardens nearby the palace, going as far as the Parterre du Midi and Parterre d?Eau.Versailles seems to have been a ubiquitous presence in the body of work developed by the artist in the last sixteen years. Bold, exuberant and grandiose, Joana Vasconcelos' aesthetic universe, feminine in its founding voice, will reinterpret the mythical sense of the place, paying homage to Women and the singularity of the diverse feminine characters who lived there. Inspired in the particular grammar of taste of Versailles - exemplarily visible in its monumental architecture and magnificent surrounding gardens; or, yet, in its extraordinary decorative richness and exuberant world of costume and adornment -, the artist proposes to create a significant cluster of new works, specifically conceived for the space. Aided by Versailles' unique richness of memory and by the sheer force of Vasconcelos? work, past and present will dialogue through historical and aesthetic references, offering the vast public of Versailles a seductive and magical exhibition.
Depuis 2008, les espaces du Domaine de Versailles s ouvrent à l art contemporain. Une occasion de faire dialoguer les grands artistes de l époque baroque -Jules Hardouin-Mansart, André Le Nôtre, Charles Le Brun, Ange-Jacques Gabriel- avec des artistes contemporains : Jeff Koons en 2008, Xavier Veilhan en 2009, Takashi Murakami en 2010, Bernar Venet en 2011. Des rencontres parfois contrastées, parfois fusionnelles, qui font de Versailles un lieu vivant toujours ouvert à la création. En 2012, l artiste portugaise Joana Vasconcelos, née en 1971 à Paris, sera l invitée de Versailles. Ses sculptures, dont certaines seront produites spécifiquement pour cette exposition, seront présentées au public de juin à septembre 2012.