Jaume Plensa

JAUME PLENSA (Barcelona, 1955).
Untitled, 2003.
Mixed media on paper.
The reverse side features informational labels from the LLucià Homs Gallery (Barcelona) and the Nicholas Gallery (Ireland)
Signed and dated in pencil.
Measurements: 41 x 27 cm; 57.5 x 44.5 cm (frame).
The composition consists of an organic, anthropomorphic form created by an accumulation of white silicone that physically protrudes from the surface of the paper. Within it appear figurative elements—notably an eye and a mouth with teeth—that introduce a bodily, almost anatomical dimension. The use of silicone transforms the drawing into a three-dimensional object, situated somewhere between a drawing, a relief, and a sculpture.
The reduction of features to just a few elements creates an ambiguous image—somewhere between a face, a body, and matter—which is characteristic of Plensa’s exploration of the representation of the human being. The work thus connects the physical dimension of the materials with issues related to identity, perception, and bodily presence.
Given its date and the use of organic forms and bodily elements, this piece can be linked to other works on paper by Plensa created around 2003, such as *Heure* and *Self-portrait II*, in which the artist continues to explore the possibilities of the body and matter beyond the traditional boundaries of drawing.
Jaume Plensa is one of the most internationally renowned Spanish artists of recent decades. He trained at the Escola de la Llotja and later at the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Since the 1980s, Plensa has lived and worked in Berlin, Brussels, England, France, and the United States, as well as in Barcelona. He has also been actively involved in teaching: he was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and has regularly served as a visiting professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Notable among his institutional exhibitions are those held at the Fundació Joan Miró, the Musée du Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Reina Sofía Museum, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and the MACBA.His major awards include the National Prize for Plastic Arts of Catalonia, the National Prize for Plastic Arts of Spain (2012), the Velázquez Prize for the Visual Arts (2013), and the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts (2021).
His work is included in major international collections, including those of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, MoMA in New York, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Art Institute of Chicago, and MACBA in Barcelona.