Joan Coderch was born in 1959 in Castellar del Vallés, Barcelona, and he graduated from Barcelona’s Faculty of Fine Art in 1984. Javier Malavia was born in 1970 in Oñati, Guipúzcoa, and he graduated from Valencia’s San Carlos Faculty of Fine Art in 1993. Once they met, they discovered their artistic similarities, which led to their undertaking this new project that follows in the footsteps of masters of figuration such as Maillol, Rodin, Marini and Bourdelle.

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Part of the originality of their art lies in the way they work, since they make their sculptures four-handed, thereby sharing in the creation of the pieces. Joan and Javier also have in common the values of their artistic creation, such as social commitment with regards to equality, the environment and childhood. 

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From the very beginning, Coderch and Malavia have managed to position themselves as outstanding figurative artists. They received the Reina Sofía Painting and Sculpture Prize for their “Hamlet” artwork in 2017 and won First Prize at the 14th ARC International Salon Competition with the sculpture “The Swan Dance” in 2019. Their other awards include the Mariano Benlliure Sculpture Medal, the TIAC Art Prize or the Arcadia Contemporary Award.

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The depiction of the human body in Coderch and Malavia’s work becomes poetry. It is the substance of contemplation and pleasure. With them, the myth of the swan once again embodies pieces such as the ones entitled Odette or Swan, whose frozen images take us to Tchaikovsky’s ballet in which the dancers’ bodies are expressed in full tension. Odette, half woman, half swan, offers the spectator a female body of extraordinary beauty at the moment when she closes her wings above her head, to be transfigured and disappear, condemning her beloved Siegfried to loneliness. Siegfried, in turn, is depicted dancing in Swan soul, hyperkinetic and frozen in the middle of a pirouette during a desperate dance.