RIEHEN, Switzerland — Dressed in suits and armed with an endless supply of energy, Spanish painter and ceramist Miquel Barceló collaborated with Yugoslavian dancer and choreographer Josef Nadj to create Paso Doble at Fondation Beyeler.
You may remember Barceló from his massive clay intervention at the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma in Spain, where he created a 300 square meter mural that referenced the gospel miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 people. The work was an equal mix of awe and fear.
You can see a little bit of that duality in Paso Doble. Nadj and Barceló emerge from behind a wall of raw clay and stand before it on a floor also thick with raw clay. Using some tools as well as their own bodies they manipulate both the wall and the floor in ways that are both considered and violent. At one point they wear raw clay like masks and shape those as part of the performance.
The performance can be viewed in its entirety below. The video after is a short interview for Fondation Beyeler.
Do you love or loathe this work of contemporary ceramic art? Let us know in the comments.
Great. The slow reverse was hypnotic. Every minute they could have stopped and still have had a masterpiece.
very inspiring, I would like to see this live!
Mesmerized by this! Could not stop watching. The sound and choreography are first rate; both the piece created and the film are stunning.