COVETED MAGAZINE PAGE 55.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW //
It is highly unlikely, to say the least, to speak with an artist about
architecture without mentioning art. For Joana, to make an artistic
intervention in the midst of an interior architecture project is some-
thing unique, and close to the artist’s heart.
“In our interior architecture projects, I
can intervene in a transversal way. For
example, the artisan participates a lot.
Lately, and for a long time, the clients ask
us to make artistic interventions in space.”
Joana is quite the Jack of all trades. Her studio has two major
departments: interior architecture and the artistic one. It might
strike you as an expected combination, but the end result is ev-
erything but foreseen.
“We have two departments, architecture
and art. We do interior architecture
projects closely linked to shops,
restaurants and hotels. We make shop
windows, where our main client is
Hermès, with whom we have worked with
for 5 years.”
For Joana, it’s all about concept. She needs to tell a story, her story.
It’s all about a narrative, and how to best portray it. It’s like a Trip-
tych: a conjugation between art, architecture and a story, ultimate-
ly creating a full painting.
“I always have to tell a story, and it has to
be one that is perceptible. The narrative,
the concept, the rigour of the project, the
execution are all crucial in my projects
and so is consistency, risk-taking and
making mistakes.”
We couldn’t end the conversation without discussing the main
challenges that an artist like Joana faces. The artist highlight-
ed two Goliath-like challenges that she usually faces: time and
budget. Time, because the Sistine Chapel wasn’t painted in just
one night. And budget because you can’t really put a price on an
artistic intervention.
“The deadline is always a pivotal
question. People always ask for projects
for yesterday. In architecture people still
understand that it is a work that takes
some time. But art takes a long time.”