Jaume Plensa

JAUME PLENSA (Barcelona, 1955).
"The traitor".
Embossed on paper (with collage).
P.EX. copy.
Signed and justified by hand.
Measurements: 59 x 50 cm.

"The Traitor" is inscribed in one of the most characteristic lines of Plensa's graphic production: the use of text as sculptural matter. The surface of the paper is entirely embossed with a literary fragment in English -from William Shakespeare's King Lear-, where the word is not printed with ink, but emerges in relief, becoming a physical and tactile presence.

The density of the embossing turns language into architecture, reinforcing a constant in the artist's work: the letter as a structure of thought and body.

In the center, a small circular collage introduces a photographic image of ironic and provocative character, generating a contrast between the tragic solemnity of the Shakespearean text and contemporary visual culture.

The condition of P. EX. (publisher's proof) underlines its special character within the edition, reinforcing its interest from a collector's point of view.

Jaume Plensa has received important recognitions, among them the National Prize of Plastic Arts of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Medal of Knight of Arts and Letters of the French Ministry of Culture. His work is part of important international collections and museums such as the MoMA in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid and the MACBA in Barcelona.