Fashion and contemporary art collide in spectacular fashion at MAAT this autumn with VENUS – Valentino Garavani Through the Eyes of Joana Vasconcelos, opening 2 October 2 as one of the major exhibitions celebrating the Lisbon museum’s 10th anniversary. Alongside the recently opened exhibition by Pedro Cabrita Reis, VENUS brings together two creative icons: Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, internationally celebrated for her exuberant sculptures and installations, and Valentino Garavani, the legendary Italian couturier whose vision helped define modern haute couture. The exhibition runs through February 22, 2027.
The collaboration began with Valentino personally selecting Vasconcelos to explore his creative universe and giving her access to his extraordinary archive. “To be able to choose from the archive was a privilege,” she said during a preview of the Lisbon exhibition. And the experience clearly surprised her: “I was not expecting so much magic.” First presented in Rome earlier this year, VENUS has been reimagined and expanded for MAAT, with a site-specific route designed around the museum’s distinctive architecture. Venus_MAAT_EN
That magic unfolds as Vasconcelos’s sculptures encounter more than 40 Valentino haute couture and ready-to-wear creations. Rather than simply displaying fashion beside art, the exhibition finds visual connections between them — colors, textures, materials, shapes and ideas bouncing playfully from one to another. MAAT
At its heart is Valkyrie Venus, Vasconcelos’s monumental 13-meter textile sculpture created specifically for the project. Fabrics, crochet, embroidery and ornamentation echo details within the surrounding Valentino dresses: a gray rosette on a gown, for example, finds another life within the sculpture. Vasconcelos describes the process as capturing an essence and transforming it into a new reality. venus_exhibition-guide_maat
Elsewhere, the conversation becomes wonderfully humorous. Full Steam Ahead turns hundreds of domestic steam irons into mechanical flowers, positioned near exquisite dresses one could scarcely imagine taking an iron to. Flowers of My Desire transforms feather dusters, while the enormous high heels of Marilyn are assembled from more than 300 stainless-steel pots and lids. Ordinary household objects suddenly become monumental — even luxurious. venus_exhibition-guide_maat venus_exhibition-guide_maat
Other highlights include the immersive Garden of Eden, where visitors enter a mysterious landscape of artificial flowers, and the rotating Red Independent Heart #3, constructed from almost 4,000 pieces of plastic cutlery in the form of a traditional Portuguese Viana heart, accompanied by the voice of Amália Rodrigues. venus_exhibition-guide_maat venus_exhibition-guide_maat
The result is glamorous, theatrical and frequently unexpected. Valentino’s astonishing craftsmanship meets Vasconcelos’s talent for scale, reinvention and humor in an exhibition that never feels intimidating or overly serious. VENUS is, quite simply, magical to behold.
For more information and to pre-purchase tickets, visit the MAAT website.
MAAT
Avenida Brasilia
Lisbon
Hours: Wednesday to Monday 10:00 to 19:00
Closed: Tuesdays,1 Jan, 25 Dec
Entrance:
International Visitors: €16
Portugal Residents: €12