La Ribot. Panoramix (1993 - 2003)
Held on 07 may 2003
The artist, dancer and choreographer La Ribot (María José Ribot) (Madrid, 1966) was honoured in 2000 with the Premio Nacional de Danza (National Dance Prize), in recognition of a career that included dance, performing arts and visual arts. Her best known work is the Series Distinguidas (1993-2003), a collection of short pieces created as a reflection on the body and from the body.
These actions -which began by being performed in theatres and later made the jump to galleries and museums- are now the subject of the exhibition Panoramix at the Palacio de Velázquez del Parque del Retiro. The exhibition is a journey through all of her Piezas Distinguidas performed over three hours. This same program is also presented at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva and Tate Modern in London. Although these pieces fall into three very distinctive series -13 Piezas distinguidas, Más distinguidas y Still distinguished created in 1993-94, 1997 and 2000 respectively- the presentation does not follow a chronological order but an order of meaning.
The space dedicated to La Ribot’s performance has been occupied by a variety of objects with which the artist interacts in each of her actions. A chair on which to jump on-top of or with which to make noise, a metre to measure various body parts, a sheet with which to represent the tail of a mermaid, adhesive tape with which to stick wood slats on to her body and transform herself into a hand-made cyborg, a wet suit, wigs, clothing, bottles and other everyday items whose meaning is subverted in the hands of the artist who often appears nude on stage.
The public is placed in the centre of the action in such a way that their presence is part of the actual scenery that accompanies her pieces. The music, ranging from pop tunes to traditional Italian songs to jazz, is an essential component to Series Distinguidas. The various movements, sometimes specific to the dance, sometimes to the performance, become part of the whole action giving indications about the ultimate meaning of the pieces developed.
Another fundamental ingredient of La Ribot’s work in Series Distinguidas is a certain taste for humorous winks. Actions are devoid of the gravity that sometimes possesses the performance and results in a playful idea of movement as a form of expression. In some of the pieces the artist introduces the text, oral or written, increasing complicity with the spectator who is forced to abandon their role of voyeur.
These Series Distinguidas have been sold to: collectors, museums, galleries and businesses. A total of thirty-four actions of variable duration (between thirty seconds and seven minutes) collected in this exhibition display La Ribot’s last decade of work, which is presented as a reference to the opening of performance and the performing arts to new possibilities.
Itinerary
Musée National d'Art Moderne Centre Georges Pompidou París; Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Ginebra;Tate Modern, Londres
Organised by
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in collaboration with the Consejería de las Artes de la Comunidad de Madrid
![Miguel Brieva, ilustración de la novela infantil Manuela y los Cakirukos (Reservoir Books, 2022) [izquierda] y Cibeles no conduzcas, 2023 [derecha]. Cortesía del artista](https://recursos.museoreinasofia.es/styles/small_landscape/public/Actividades/ecologias_del_deseo_utopico.jpg.webp)
![Ángel Alonso, Charbon [Carbón], 1964. Museo Reina Sofía](https://recursos.museoreinasofia.es/styles/small_landscape/public/Actividades/perspectivas_ecoambientales.jpg.webp)
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Through collective study, the group seeks to update critical debates surrounding the use of violence and non-violence, as well as to explore the conflict of their representation at the core of visual cultures. In a present marked by rearmament, war, genocide, and the collapse of the social contract, this group aims to equip itself with tools to, on one hand, map genealogies and aesthetics of peace—within and beyond the Spanish context—and, on the other, analyze strategies of pacification that have served to neutralize the critical power of peace struggles. Transitional and anti-punitive justice proposals will also be addressed, alongside their intersections with artistic, visual, and cinematic practices. This includes examining historical examples of tribunals and paralegal activisms initiated by artists, and projects where gestures, imaginaries, and vocabularies tied to justice, reparation, memory, and mourning are developed.
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Aesthetics of Peace and Tactics of Desertion, developed and led by the Museo Reina Sofía’s Studies Management, unfolds through biweekly sessions from October to June. These sessions alternate between theoretical discussions, screenings, work with artworks and archival materials from the Museo’s Collection, reading workshops, and public sessions. The group is structured around sustained methodologies of study, close reading, and collective discussion of thinkers such as Judith Butler, Elsa Dorlin, Juan Albarrán, Rita Segato, Sven Lütticken, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Franco “Bifo” Berardi; historical episodes such as the anti-nuclear and anti-arms race movement in Spain; and the work of artists and activists including Rojava Film Commune, Manuel Correa and the Oficina de Investigación Documental (Office for Documentary Investigation), and Jonas Staal, among other initial cases that will expand as the group progresses.
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Wednesday, 4, and Thursday, 5 March 2026
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This edition will be held with in-person and online attendance formats, occurring simultaneously, via twenty-minute interventions followed by a five-minute Q&A.
Submitting Proposals
The deadline for presenting proposals ends on 28 September 2025. Those interested must send an email to jornada.conservacion@museoreinasofia.es, submitting the following documents:
- An unpublished proposal related to the conservation or restoration of contemporary art.
- A 1,700-word summary, written in Word, on the theme addressed. Please indicate the topic at the top of the document with five keywords and the presentation format (in-person or virtual). Preference will be given to the in-person format.
- CV and contact details.
- Only one proposal per person will be accepted.
- Proposals related to talks given in the last three conferences will not be accepted.
Proposals may be submitted in Spanish, French or English and will be evaluated by a Scientific Committee, which will select the submissions to be presented during these conference days and will determine their possible participation in a subsequent publication, the inclusion of which will undergo a second and definitive evaluation by the Editorial Committee.
For submissions in a virtual format, participants must send a recording following certain technical requirements they will receive once participation is confirmed.
The programme of sessions will be published in the coming days.
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The visit sets out an in-situ dialogue between the works hung around the painting and a selection of key documents, selected by the Museo’s Education Team and essential to gaining an idea of the picture’s historical background. Therefore, the tour looks to contribute to activating critical thought around this iconic and perpetually represented work and seeks to foster an approach which refreshes our gaze before the painting, thereby establishing a link with the present. Essentially revisiting to rethink Guernica.
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