GAGOSIAN QUARTERLY: Molissa Fenley and Tess Michaelson

In 1990, postmodern dance pioneer Molissa Fenley performed Bardo at Keith Haring’s funeral. She created the piece as a homage to the artist and the creative friendship that he and Fenley had developed since they first met in Haring’s hometown of Kutztown, Pennsylvania. According to Tibetan tradition, “bardo” is a liminal space between death and rebirth where, unconnected from physical forms, one’s consciousness faces one’s karmic past and prepares for the next life. In honor of the thirty-fifth anniversary of Haring’s funeral and with the support of the New York City AIDS Memorial, Fenley restaged the work with an ensemble cast on May 4, 2025 at the LGBT Community Center. Here, Fenley speaks with Tess Michaelson about the passage of time, the truthfulness of performance, and the expansion of empathic experience.