MICAS, Malta’s newest cultural destination, has announced the publication of the catalogue for its opening exhibition, Joana Vasconcelos: Transcending the Domestic, which marked the launch of the contemporary arts museum in Floriana in October 2024.

The catalogue is the first collaboration of MICAS with the renowned art publishers Skira, of Milan – a world leader in the publication of catalogues for major international exhibitions.

With its high visual and academic standard, Joana Vasconcelos: Transcending the Domestic features the work of The Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones, and a wide-ranging interview between MICAS Artistic Director Edith Devaney and the celebrated artist Joana Vasconcelos.

In Malta, the book is on sale only at MICAS at its gift shop or online.

“MICAS is documenting this exhibition with a high-quality publication that is a must for any art lover, but also a wonderful gift which anyone – young and old – will be delighted to spend hours with,” said MICAS executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat. “We have committed ourselves to the highest of standards when it comes to publishing, in full collaboration with the artists themselves.”

MICAS has already published catalogues of its past pre-opening displays such as Between Sea And Land, and will be producing forthcoming catalogues for its ongoing Raymond Pitrè exhibition display as well as The Space We Inhabit – its current main gallery exhibition – and a future show that brings together the work of American colourist Milton Avery with those of several other American and European artists.

“It has already been such an exciting year for MICAS – we opened in 2024 with the statement that was Vasconcelos. And with Pitrè and our Maltese group exhibition so early in our foundation year, we are filled with courage that our publications will extend our mission here,” said MICAS Artistic Director Edith Devaney. ”Education is a key strand of MICAS’s remit for the visual contemporary arts, and documenting the work of the artists who work with MICAS, as we have already done in our annual publications, is a constant endeavour.”

About the book

From everyday objects to ethereal Edens, Joana Vasconcelos shows off the range of her provocative found-object installations.

Born 1971, Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos reassembles quotidian objects – often ones associated with femininity – into larger-than-life installations. As its title suggests, this monograph includes installations by Vasconcelos that move beyond material culture to address more spiritual concerns.

Published to celebrate the opening of the Malta International Contemporary Art Space and its inaugural exhibition by the celebrated Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, the “Transcending the Domestic” exhibition catalogue includes rich installation photography of the exhibition arranged over the gallery’s three interrelated levels.

 The book features works which focus on the quotidian nature of existence presented alongside four major installation pieces which connect with a sense of the spiritual – Tree of Life, The Garden of Eden, Loft and Valkyrie Mumbet.

About Skira

The Italian publishing house Skira covers the entire history of art and is considered a world authority on the arts. Founded by Alberto Skira in 1928 with inaugural publications about Picasso, Ovid and Surrealism, today Skira has cemented its position as a world-leading publisher of the arts that embodies the perpetual change of art and the spirit of learning without limits.

Details

Joana Vasconcelos: Transcending the Domestic (Hardback)

Edited by Edith Devaney

Publisher: Skira

ISBN: 9788857253459

Number of pages: 224

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Language: English