Famous for her monumental, joyful installations, Joana Vasconcelos chose the challenge of creating a label-sized artwork. Her drawing centres on a cluster of grapes and illustrates all the elements that come together to create a great wine: earth and water, the sun’s rays and the cool of the night, combined with the work of human hands, represented by the apex of a triangle as a beneficial incursion into the cycle of nature.

Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each element has its own shape and colour and plays a complementary and decisive role. The vine is the centre of human attention and thrives in the paradise – “Paraíso” in Portuguese – that is the Château Mouton Rothschild terroir, whose soil, sun and water have nourished grapes from time immemorial.

True to her bright, colourful universe, the artist has used her talent for graphic arts, honed over several years, to create the drawing that illustrates the label for the 2023 vintage.

Joana Vasconcelos explains the inspiration behind her original artwork : “My inspiration for the label were the grapes and vines and the naturalistic aspect of the Château Mouton, meaning nature. “Paraíso” (Paradise) is a work inspired by the idea of perfection, of luxury, and the coherence between nature and man.”

“Joana Vasconcelos uses everyday, traditional materials like embroidery or crochet to create artworks that explore contemporary issues such as feminism in a monumental, baroque, occasionally provocative, humorous and engaged way. She grounds Portugal’s craft heritage in modernity. I really like that link between art and craft because it’s what we have here at Château Mouton Rothschild, the result of high-level craftsmanship and at the same time a work of art, because each vintage is unique, rare and hence precious.” Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, co-owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, responsible for the estate’s artistic and cultural activity and for relations with artists

More information about Joana Vasconcelos (1971 -)