Trajal Harrell presents "Study #1"
ARCHIVE
Admission to this event is included with a ticket to the "Clair-obscur" exhibition.
In dialogue with Sigmar Polke’s Axial Age, presented in Gallery 2 as part of the "Clair-obscur" exhibition, the American dancer and choreographer Trajal Harrell presents Study #1, a site-specific intervention lasting approximately six minutes, repeated several times a day.
An ardent admirer of Sigmar Polke, Trajal Harrell conceives this piece in direct resonance with Axial Age, a monumental cycle of nine painted panels referring to the concept of the "Axial Age", a period in Antiquity (800–200 BCE) marked by exceptional spiritual vitality.
Inspired by the ambition of Polke's masterpiece, Harrell takes this opportunity to begin a long-term research project with a simple gesture. Study #1 is the first stage of the development of a much larger work to come. This “work as research” draws on the museum, the exhibition, and its visitors as a context for rethinking Harrell's choreographic practice in new building blocks.
Taking transcendence -one of the recurring themes in the work of Sigmar Polke- as its starting point, the choreographer explores its possibilities of representation: what belongs to the visible or the invisible, what visual and sonic signs can suggest, and how this experience manifests in the performer, the spectator, or in the energetic space that emerges between them.
Trajal Harrell’s work has developed through a speculative history of addressing different dance genres such as postmodern dance, voguing, modern dance, butoh, and the dances of Greek antiquity. His practice is structured around a theoretical framework developed notably during his years at Yale University on questions of gender, feminism, and postcolonialism. Harrell’s dance training is shaped by formative years spent at the Trisha Brown Dance Company, the Centre National de la Danse (with Yvonne Rainer), the City College of San Francisco, and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
The choreographer’s creations draw on fashion, pop culture, and the avant-gardes, offering a re-interpretation of dance history. His work is presented internationally in theatres, museums, festivals, and galleries. In 2023, the Festival d’Automne à Paris dedicated a portrait to him, presenting nine of his pieces, including In The Mood for Frankie at the Bourse de Commerce. In 2024, he received the Silver Lion at the Venice Dance Biennale.
Choreography and performance: Trajal Harrell
Production: Friederike Kötter for Studiotharrell