Ana Jotta
Never Never Land
2023
Piece of ceramics, ribbon, drawing on paper
53 x 31 x 6 cm
Acquisition date: 2023

Ana Jotta was born in 1946 in Lisbon (Portugal), where she lives and works today. Originally trained in theater and film in the 1960s, she moved to visual art in the 1980s, exploring a variety of mediums (painting, sculpture, installation, sound, embroidery, etc.). Ana Jotta’s distinctive work stands apart for the close relationship that she has developed with found objects. The artist carefully selects these mundane artifacts and uses them as materials for her artistic endeavors – a testament to her ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Never Never Land is a perfect illustration of Jotta’s “artist-as-a-gleaner” original approach. The artwork, consisting of a piece of broken ceramics juxtaposed with a collage on paper where “Never Never Land” is written, instantly brings to mind the universe of Peter Pan. The artist’s simple assemblage embarks the viewer on a trip to an enchanted world, where the boundaries between art and life are blurred.