Photo Alexander Black
Emma Portner / Femme Debout
Premiere / August 9, 2018
Fondation Beyeler
Riehen/Basel, Switzerland

Emma Portner’s complex and delicate choreography draws on the grotesque, the artificial, and extreme emotionality, her extraordinary performances leaving her audiences breathless. Femme Debout, created specially for the exhibition of Francis Bacon & Alberto Giacometti..

Portner showed immediate enthusiasm at the idea of collaborating with the Fondation Beyeler: “Bacon and Giacometti are two of my favorite visual artists of all time. They both have moved me so deeply for years. They broke boundaries and made us uncomfortable. They made us reflect on a deeper level. I couldn’t resist this collaboration. It was an immediate ‘yes’ from my side. It is also a complete honor to collaborate with the Fondation Beyeler. Bringing movement in response to stillness is fascinating. It is a chance for these works to come to life. It is a chance for me to give these still pieces real breathing bodies.”

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS
  • Skin In The Game
    Sep 14, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024
    KW Institute for Contemporary Art
    Berlin, Germany

    Skin In The Game presents seminal prototypes from the personal archives of internationally acclaimed artists, dating back to the 1970s and crossing over into the present. The exhibits include experiments never previously shown, from paintings to sculptures, to banners, video performances, photographs, collages, drawings, books, and concept notes. The works focus on that moment of professional and existential emancipation when these artists threw their skin in the game, and gave their all to art. (more…)