Jaume Plensa

Jaume Plensa: biography

Jaume Plensa is a Spanish contemporary artist who is known for his figurative sculptures and installations.

Childhood and youth

Jaume Plensa was born on August 23, 1955, in Barcelona, Spain. He grew up in a family of artists, as his father was a printer and his grandfather was a painter. As a child, Plensa showed a strong interest in art and began drawing and painting at a young age. He attended the Llotja School in Barcelona, where he studied art and developed his skills as a sculptor. Later, he attended the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, where he continued to hone his craft. During his youth, Plensa was influenced by the work of Catalan sculptors such as Pablo Gargallo and Julio González, and he was also drawn to the works of artists like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

Art career

Jaume Plensa began his professional art career in the late 1970s, after completing his studies at the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Initially, he worked primarily in drawing and painting, but soon turned his focus to sculpture. In the early 1980s, Plensa began to gain recognition for his work, with solo exhibitions at galleries in Barcelona and Madrid.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Plensa continued to develop his style and technique as a sculptor, creating works that explored themes of spirituality, human consciousness, and the interconnectedness of humanity. He experimented with a variety of materials, including bronze, steel, and glass, and often incorporated text and language into his sculptures.

In 1992, Plensa gained international recognition for his work when he was commissioned to create a large-scale sculpture for the Olympic Games in Barcelona. The resulting work, "L'Home del Mil·leni" (The Man of the Millennium), a 60-foot-tall steel figure that incorporates text from the works of Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer, was a critical and popular success.

Following the success of "L'Home del Mil·leni," Plensa continued to receive commissions for public artworks around the world. In 2004, he created a large-scale installation titled "Crown Fountain" for Millennium Park in Chicago, which features two 50-foot-tall glass towers that project video images of Chicago residents' faces onto a reflecting pool.

Plensa's other notable works include "Echo," a 40-foot-tall figure of a seated woman made of steel mesh, which is installed at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle; "Julia," a 40-foot-tall steel figure installed in the courtyard of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid; and "Wonderland," a series of large-scale steel sculptures installed in the gardens of Château La Coste in Provence, France.

Throughout his career, Plensa has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to contemporary art. In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Velázquez Prize for Visual Arts by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. Today, his works can be found in many public and private collections around the world, and he continues to create new works that explore the complex relationships between art, language, and humanity.

Personal life

Jaume Plensa is keeping his personal life in a secret so not much is known about him. Jaume is married to his wife Laura Medina. She manages his art studio in Barcelona.

Works

Jaume Plensa has created numerous works of art over the course of his career, including sculptures, installations, and public artworks. Some of his most notable works include:

• "L'Home del Mil·leni" (The Man of the Millennium), a 60-foot-tall steel figure installed for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona
• "Crown Fountain," a large-scale installation featuring two 50-foot-tall glass towers that project video images of Chicago residents' faces onto a reflecting pool in Millennium Park in Chicago
• "Echo," a 40-foot-tall figure of a seated woman made of steel mesh, installed at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle
• "Julia," a 40-foot-tall steel figure installed in the courtyard of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid
• "Wonderland," a series of large-scale steel sculptures installed in the gardens of Château La Coste in Provence, France

Plensa's works can be found in many public and private collections around the world, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan.