BARBICAN Art Gallery has announced its first major exhibition of the 2020, which will celebrate the work of dancer and choreographer Michael Clark. The exhibition will mark the 15th year of Michael Clark Company’s ongoing collaboration with the Barbican as an Artistic Associate.
Michael Clark Company, Mmm… Barbican Theatre, 2006
Set for Summer 2020, the exhibition will take a look at Clark’s long professional career, starting from the 1980s. Alongside the photographic and film material from Clark’s practices, Barbican will also display the dancer’s iconic collaborations across visual arts, music, fashion, and film. One of the presented collaborations will be the film Hail the New Puritan from 1986, choreographed by Clark, which features a performance by Leigh Bowery and music by The Fall. Additional collaborations displayed at the exhibition will include works by photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, painter Peter Doig and others.
Michael Clark Company, I Am Curious, Orange, 1988
Michael Clark is a Scottish dancer, hailed as “British dance’s true iconoclast” due to his frequent fusion of classical dance and contemporary elements. After graduating from the Royal Ballet School in London, Clark joined Ballet Rambert, where he worked mainly with choreographer Sir Richard Alston. Following his first official choreography in 1982, Clark launched his theatre and dance company in 1984, where he still works today. In 2014 Clark was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the British dancing industry.
by Lexi Fadina
Barbican Centre, Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS
June 12 – August 30, 2020