Jaume Plensa

JAUME PLENSA (Barcelona, 1955).
"LI", 1987
Book-object with twelve etchings and aquatint on copper.
And a poem by Jesús Ferrero.
Copy 12/35.
Edition of 35 signed and numbered copies, plus 5 artist's proofs and 5 hors commerce.
Measurements: 60 x 52 x 3 cm (book): 27.5 × 16 cm (2 plates); 50 × 36 cm (10 plates).

LI is one of the most relevant book-objects of Jaume Plensa's first period. Conceived as a total work, it integrates engraving, poetry and sculpture in a single artistic device. The loose pages, kept in a rigid unvarnished copper case, reinforce the material and sculptural dimension of the whole, where the book ceases to be a support and becomes an autonomous object.

Copper -a key material in Plensa's production during the eighties- introduces a reflection on time and transformation, while the etchings and aquatints display an organic and symbolic language that dialogues with Jesús Ferrero's text. The choice of handmade paper and the careful intervention of specialized printers underline the experimental and highly controlled nature of the project.

The existence of a free suite of the twelve engravings confirms the double nature of the work: on the one hand, a book-sculpture; on the other, an independent graphic corpus. LI thus anticipates central concerns in the artist's later career: the book as a space for thought, the letter as a plastic form and matter as memory.

Jaume Plensa has had an extensive international career, with outstanding exhibitions such as the retrospective held at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in 2000.

He has received important awards, 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.