Matarazzo Valkyrie

Made especially for the Matarazzo chapel, this is a new instalment in the artist’s Valkyries series, an important pillar of her work that consists of unexpected organic forms hung from the ceiling. The Valkyries are inspired by the handmaidens of Norse mythology who weave the fates of men and give them life. Suspended from the ceiling, the crocheted bodies of Vasconcelos’ Valkyries fly over battlefields, going about their otherworldly business. The installation stands out for the thousands of blue, white and red LEDs that run along these strange bodies, which strike up a curious harmony with the symmetry of the chapel’s architecture. The rich patterns and textures and variety of soft pastel shades of the work, whose draping tentacles loll across the floor, highlight the chapel’s particular characteristics. Religiosity and worship find their formal correspondence in the shape of a cross, the underlying inspiration for many of the sculpture’s volumes, and in the surprising streaks of light. Matarazzo Valkyrie slips into the role of worthy guardian of the space and the sublime heart of its chapel host.