Graduate’s artwork acquired by National Museum Wales helped him reveal sexuality to parents
One graduate’s powerful artwork exploring the connotations of the word ‘pansies’ - now on display at the National Museum Wales - also helped the aspiring artist tell his parents he was gay.
Toni De Jesus, from Maderia, Portugal, graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University's Ceramics BA (Hons) Degree with first-class honours in 2018. Since then, he has gone on to establish himself as a reputable artist in Wales and internationally.
Toni’s work - ‘Amor Perfeito’ - has now been acquired for the public collection at National Museum Cardiff and illustrates pansies on a porcelain vessel.
Toni said: “I first started working on Amor-Perfeito for a project with ‘On Your Face’ - which is a collective of queer artists which are brought together from across Wales to showcase their work. What became Amor-Perfeito as it appears today in the National Museum Wales, actually started as a porcelain plate in the Nantgarw China Works gallery over 200 years ago. I used the original porcelain to handmake the vessel, linking it to the original plate. Finally, I applied pansy decorations onto the surface.”
Prior to his work going on display with the On Your Face collection, Toni had not told his father he was gay.
Toni continues: “Although there are negative connotations associated with the word in the UK, in Portugal - which is where my family and I are from - the word pansies mean perfect love. The same way we have reclaimed the word “queer”, I am reclaiming the word pansy and putting the intent where it really matters.
“When the work was first exhibited, as it was so public facing, it became an opportunity and meant I had to tell my father for the first time that I was gay.”
Due to the story behind the artwork and the name having derogatory connotations in terms of queer identifies, Amor-Perfeito has sparked interest from galleries across Wales and internationally - including being exhibited with the J. Lohmann Gallery in New York.
From here, Toni has been developing a body of work with the New York based gallery and has shown various collections at Design Miami, Salon Art + Design Fair and Homo Faber: The Journey of Life in Venice. These displays also led to press coverage in Vogue USA, Ceramic Review and being nominated in The Guardian Design highlights 2024.
Toni continues: “After a conversation with the National Museum Wales for a possible acquisition, I proposed multiple pieces of work, but they really liked the impact of Amor-Perfeito.
“I have been on quite a journey with this piece of work. It has really developed my body of work and how I think about it. How art can imitate life. Belonging and not belonging. That really comes out in the work I produce.”
Amor-Perfeito now belongs to the National Museum and the people of Wales and is held in trust for the nation.