Jaume Plensa Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Jaume Plensa Escultor Jaume Plensa
Jaume Plensa (December 2015)
Born	(1955-08-23) August 23, 1955 (age 69) Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Education	Llotja School
Alma mater	Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi
Notable work	Crown Fountain Blake in Gateshead Dream
Awards	Medaille des Chevaliers des Arts et Lettres Investit Doctor Honoris Causa Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture (2009) National Award for Plastic Arts (2012)

Jaume Plensa i Suñé (born August 23, 1955) is a famous Spanish artist. He is known for his amazing sculptures. He also designs opera sets, video art, and sound installations.

About Jaume Plensa
His Amazing Artworks
Awards and Recognition
Gallery
See also

About Jaume Plensa

Jaume Plensa was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He started studying fine arts in Barcelona. However, he also learned a lot about art on his own.

His Amazing Artworks

Jaume Plensa has created many well-known art pieces around the world. His sculptures often involve human figures, letters, and light.

The Crown Fountain

One of his most famous works is the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. It opened in 2004. The fountain has two tall towers made of glass bricks. These towers are about 15 meters (50 feet) high. They show digital videos of faces using special LED lights. Water seems to flow from the mouths of these faces.

Dreaming of a Better Future

In 2009, Plensa created Dream near St Helens, Merseyside in England. This sculpture is a giant white head and neck of a young woman. Her eyes are closed as if she is meditating. It is 20 meters (66 feet) tall and weighs 500 tons! The sculpture is made of sparkling white stone called dolomite. This white stone stands out against the dark history of the coal mine that used to be there.

Light for Journalists

In 2008, Plensa made a sculpture called Breathing. It is a memorial to journalists who have been killed while working. The sculpture is made of steel and glass. It sits on top of a building in London. Every evening, a powerful beam of light shines from the sculpture into the sky for 30 minutes.

Art and Knowledge

In 2010, Plensa's sculpture Alchemist was placed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA. It is a large, hollow figure of a person sitting down. What makes it special is that it's made entirely of numbers and mathematical symbols. This design honors MIT's focus on science and math.

Letters and Souls

Plensa often uses letters in his sculptures. El alma del Ebro (The Soul of the Ebro) was made for an exhibition in Zaragoza, Spain. It is 11 meters (36 feet) high. The sculpture is made of letters that represent the cells of the human body. It reminds us that our bodies are mostly water.

A similar sculpture called Singapore Soul (2011) is in Singapore. Another group of three figures made of letters, called I, You, She, He..., can be seen in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Other Notable Works

Blake in Gateshead is a laser beam that shines into the night sky over Gateshead in England on special occasions.
In 2011, his work Echo was shown in Madison Square Park in Manhattan, New York.
Laura (2012) is a 20-foot-tall sculpture made of large marble pieces. It is in Buffalo, New York.
Ainsa I (2013) is a sculpture at Washington University in St. Louis.
Love (2017) was installed in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
Dreaming (2020) is outside a building in Toronto, Canada.
Behind the Walls (2020) is at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
Water's Soul (2021) is a large sculpture of a head with a finger to its lips. It is located by the Hudson River in Jersey City, USA.

Exhibitions

In 2019, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art held a big exhibition of his work in his hometown. This show later traveled to the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.

Awards and Recognition

Jaume Plensa has received many awards for his art, including:

1993: Medaille des Chevaliers des Arts et Lettres from France.
1997: National Award of Arts from the Government of Catalonia.
2005: Became a Doctor Honoris Causa by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
2009: Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture.
2012: Creu de Sant Jordi Award.
2012: National Award for Plastic Arts.
2013: Premio Nacional de Arte Gráfico.
2013: Premio Velázquez de Artes Plásticas.