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Biography

Jaume Plensa is internationally recognized as one of today’s leading contemporary sculptors. Over the past 35 years, he has created sculptures and installations that unify individuals through connections of spirituality, the body, and collective memory. Literature, psychology, biology, language, and history have been key guiding elements throughout his career. Using a wide range of materials including steel, cast iron, resin, paraffin wax, glass, light, water, and sound, Plensa lends physical weight and volume to components of the human condition and the ephemeral.

Underlining Plensa’s practice is an ongoing pursuit to evoke the beauty in simplicity, encouraging points of convergence for viewers of the work, which range from architectural landmarks bridging local communities to intimate sculptures. Plensa’s long career with public-facing artworks—seen all over the world from Seoul to Dubai—originates from his belief in the ability of art in public spaces to create inclusive, transformative experiences for a diverse and extensive audience. 

The artist’s celebrated works can be seen at The Shard, London, UK; Newport Pier Park, Jersey City, New Jersey; Hudson Yards, New York City; Bonaventure Gateway, Montreal, Canada; Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois; Olympic Sculpture Park, Washington; Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates; BBC Broadcasting Tower and St. Helens, England; Pearson International Airport, Canada; Daikanyama, Toranomon Hills, and Ogijima Japan; Shanghai IFC Mall, China; Buffalo

 

AKG Art Museum, New York; Rice University, Texas; Bastion Saint-Jaume, France; Raoul Wallenberg Square, Sweden; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida; among many other sites worldwide.

Solo museum exhibitions have been held at Musée d'Art Moderne de Céret, France; Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia; MACBA–Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas; Musée Picasso, France; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, England; and the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland. Jaume Plensa: Together was presented at the Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore in Italy as a collateral event of the 56th Venice Biennale. The artist was honored at the Hirshhorn New York Gala in 2019 and received the Velázquez Prize for Plastic Arts from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Madrid, Spain, in 2013, among other accolades. In 2024, the artist will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Notre Dame University, Indiana. A documentary feature of the artist’s life and work Jaume Plensa: Can You Hear Me? was released in 2020.

The artist was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1955, where he currently lives and works.

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