Josep Bofill (1942) - Paso de a Dos

An especially expressive sculpture by Josep Bofill Moliné, made in 1986, at one of the most interesting moments of the early years of his sculptural career.

Two dancers remain frozen in mid-movement. The figures seek each other and support one another while their arms draw large arcs in space and the female body projects outward in a long diagonal. It is not merely a representation of a ballet scene: Bofill turns the balance between the two bodies into the true motive of the work. One supports while the other surrenders to the movement; tension and balance, strength and lightness, dependence and freedom appear simultaneously in a composition conceived to be observed from all angles.

It is precisely this ability to transform the human figure into a vehicle for emotions and ideas that characterizes much of Josep Bofill’s output. The human being has occupied a central place throughout his career, and the artist has used the body, movement, and space to investigate universal questions such as the relationship between people, loneliness, union, and balance.

The date 1986 is especially meaningful. Bofill had publicly presented his sculptural work for the first time just a few years earlier, in 1983, and during those years he was already beginning to develop an intense national and international exhibition career. The relationship of his work with movement and the stage would also continue in his career, later leading him to work in the realm of stage design for dance.

The piece belongs to a limited edition of 4,000 copies, this being No. 226/4000, an early numbering within the edition.

It also presents a particularly attractive circumstance for the collector: it is doubly signed, preserving both the signature integrated into the work itself and the identifying signature on the base. This combination of authorship, numbering, and dating clearly situates it within Bofill’s mid-1980s production.

The surface features a rich dark bronze patina with greenish undertones, which accentuates the anatomy and the marks of modelling. In certain areas traces of the original gold finish can still be seen — gold dust applied originally in 1986 — a detail especially delicate and uncommon to find preserved after roughly four decades. Far from having been cleaned or aggressively repatinated, the work preserves the richness and nuances of its original surface.

All the ensemble rests on an elegant rectangular wooden plinth, whose warm tone contrasts with the dark patina of the figures and reinforces the sculptural character of the composition.

Its condition is excellent. The figures retain their limbs, hands, and delicate protruding elements intact, particularly vulnerable in a sculpture of this kind. No relevant structural losses are observed and the surface exceptionally preserves its appearance, patina, and remnants of the original finish.

One circumstance that deserves particular emphasis: in this type of figurative sculptures, with arms, hands and legs very extended and numerous fragile points, finding an almost forty-year-old specimen in this state of preservation is increasingly uncommon.

Details of the work: Josep Bofill Moliné (Barcelona, 1942); Spain; 1986; limited edition 226/4000; signed on the sculpture itself and on the base; composition/resin material with bronze-like finish and patina — exact material pending analysis; visible traces of the original gold finish; wooden plinth; approximately 34 × 24 × 20 cm; approximate weight 2 kg; excellent state of conservation.

Josep Bofill is a Spanish sculptor and artist trained at the School of Arts and Craftsmanship of Barcelona. From his early sculptural exhibitions in the 1980s he developed an international career that has brought his work to galleries and museums in many countries. Among his recognitions are the Josep Llimona Prize for Sculpture and the Monte Carlo Prix International d’Art Contemporain, and his production includes both collectible sculpture as well as major commissions and monumental works.

A particularly attractive piece not only for its composition and its author, but for bringing together early date, numbered edition, double signature, and a conservation state difficult to find, preserving even traces of its original 1986 finish.