Jaume Plensa

Dal sito AMA annuncia che sarà l'artista Jaume Plensa ad occupare una delle location più ambite nei giorni della Biennale, il grande spazio davanti alla Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, curatrice dell'evento Claire Lilley, direttrice artistica allo Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

English

As part of the 56th Venice Biennial, the San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica is to host, from 7 May, a new installation by the Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, entitled Together.

Born in Spain in 1955, Jaume Plensa has achieved worldwide renown for his large-scale works in public spaces, some of which are permanent, such as Crown Fountain in Chicago, Echo in Seattle, and Roots in Tokyo. Winner of the Velázquez Prize in 2013, his work is currently being exhibited in Chicago’s Millenium Park. Recently, his works have been exhibited at Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, and the Nasher Sculpture Centre in Dallas.

The San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica, designed by the architect Palladio (1508-1580), is a space of worship, exchange, and meditation. With “Together”, an exhibition organised in collaboration with Richard Gray Gallery (Chicago) and Galerie Lelong (Paris), Jaume Plensa adds his own contribution to the location’s spirituality with two sculpted heads which are arranged face to face, in the middle of a discussion.  A hand made from different characters from eight different alphabets will be suspended under the basilica’s dome, whilst a head, made from stainless steel, is to be installed in the nave of the building. These original works, only to be on display in the basilica, highlight the artist’s interest in the link between the body and material, space and scale. Several portraits and drawings, which are to go on display at the Nuova Manica Lunga, the island’s famous library, are to accompany the installation.

About the artist’s work, Clare Lilley, the curator of the exhibition, commented: “Plensa’s works in the San Giorgio Maggiore demonstrate his complete mastery of space and scale. His sculptures don’t oust these historic spaces; on the contrary, they capture and reflect their light and shadows, communicating in a metaphorical language.”