MONUMENTAL
EUROPE, THE LAST THROW
Europe, The Last Throw by Pavel Miguel offers a satirical reflection on the European Union’s monetary system and its geopolitical direction.
Reinterpreting Myron’s iconic classical Greek sculpture Discobolus (The Discus Thrower), Miguel replaces the traditional discus with an oversized 1-euro coin. This seemingly simple intervention creates a multilayered metaphor for the contemporary European project.
Key Themes & Interpretation
The Loss of Cultural Idealism: Myron’s Discobolus embodies athletic grace, physical perfection and the ideals of classical humanism. Miguel replaces the discus — an object associated with physical achievement and human potential — with a symbol of Europe’s monetary union. The gesture suggests a shift from cultural and humanistic ideals towards economic integration and financial interests.
Economic Fragility and Risk
By turning the euro into an object to be thrown, Miguel transforms the act of throwing into a metaphor for risk and uncertainty — evoking the idea of a “last throw of the dice.” The work reflects concerns surrounding financial crises, economic instability and the fragile balance of the Eurozone.
Modern Myth and Classical Legacy
The blue, roughly textured figure stands in stark contrast to the polished marble aesthetic of classical sculpture. Its strained, almost weary posture suggests both physical effort and exhaustion. Caught in a gesture that appears simultaneously powerful and precarious, the figure raises a fundamental question: Is the European project moving forward — or is Europe ultimately throwing away its own value?
Pavel Miguel 2025
EVERYTHING I SHOULD KNOW
The book raft entitled “Everything I should know”. This installation consists of a raft made of branches and six gigantic books. This whole monument is a tribute to reading and books, the books we need for our journey (life, existence), just six books, maybe we don't need to suffocate ourselves with mega information anymore.
Another aspect is that books are threatened with extinction, on the one hand by everyday technologies, cell phones and computers, and on the other by AI.
The raft is not just a nostalgic work, it represents the will to find a way into the present.
Pavel Miguel 2025
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL
Pavel Miguel's work is characterised by its rawness, its symbolic power and its rough but precise execution.Together with two other monumental sculptures, the "Modern Sisyphus", a version of the Greek myth in which the hero pushes an ordinary shopping cart uphill, and the "Mute", a huge face with closed eyes and a mouth sealed by a tightly screwed gag, his new work "Between Heaven and Hell" forms a trilogy that portrays our times. "Between Heaven and Hell" is Pavel Miguels new Pieta, in which Mary, the mother par excellence, appears this time seated on an imposing ammunition box, holding the new martyr in her arms: a soldier who falls at every moment in any war. The author deliberately contrasts the whiteness and purity of the mother with the dark military uniform of the dead soldier, the white tunic and veil with the harshness and martial character of the battle dress, the antagonism between mercy and duty, between light and darkness, between love and death, the replacement of the fallen anonymous soldier by Jesus in the arms of the loving mother. Pavel Miguel pays homage to Michelangelo, but replaces the harmony of the Renaissance with the drama of our time and uses an additional human dimension to the figures to reinforce the message of despair and loss.
Pavel Miguel, Sculptor
THE CONQUEROR IS HERE.
GALLERY
