JAUME PLENSA

Two key words in Plensa’s poetic lexicon appear in the title of the exhibition. Already present in Désir-Rêve (his 1997 exhibition at Jeu de Paume in Paris), ‘rêve’ (dream) and ‘désir’ (desire) permeate Plensa’s oeuvre as cerebral, corporeal, and spiritual forms. Dream and Desire re-emerge in his installations, the one in the public space in Vitry-sur-Seine for instance, finding a renewed translation of plasticity.

At 13 rue de Téhéran, five alabaster sculptures are placed horizontally on the floor, their oval shapes evoking waterlilies or floating stones. Out of this assemblage come human faces—at times accompanied by hands in tender or caressing gestures—seemingly rising from a liquid surface. Alabaster, polished or raw, plays on the tensions of texture and of light. The contrast between ruggedness and transparency inscribes each sculpture with a sensory ambiguity, one between minerality and fantasy. These visages are an invitation to silent contemplation, to a poetic escape through the human figure.

At 38 avenue Matignon, three sculptures are presented on two levels. On the ground floor, two large portraits face each other; they are made in cast iron, a dense and oxidized material. On the first floor, a bronze face, painted white, has a near ethereal presence. In these three works, separate but in conversation, the material becomes symbolic of a state of being. Iron anchors; white bronze elevates. In two contrasting materials, the same face expresses two intensities of desire, terrestrial and spiritual. Around these countenances, sculpted hands introduce a dimension of peace and introspection.

In our bookshop, prints and recent drawings are on display. Jaume Plensa has set about an investigation of form, parallel to his research in sculpture. Faces drawn in profile, using mesh patterns, seem to float on the surface of the paper, between appearance and disappearance, attendance and absence. Drawing here becomes a space of concentration, of breathing, of restrained presence. In a more intimate register, it extends the tensions which sculpture unfolds in space.

Born in Barcelona in 1955, Jaume Plensa is one of the most imposing figures in the international landscape of sculpture. His work was recently exhibited at the Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie in Valence, and at the Fundación Telefónica in Madrid. In June 2025, Art Basel Unlimited presented a large installation by Plensa, confirming his global prominence. In autumn 2025, a major retrospective devoted to his oeuvre will be held at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Michigan, one of the most prestigious sculpture parks in North America.

Plensa’s sculptures can be seen in public spaces around the world: Crown Fountain in Millennium Park in Chicago; We at the foot of the Shard in London; Water’s Soul in Jersey City overlooking the Hudson River; Julia on the Plaza de Colón in Madrid; The House of Light and Love in Taipei. In France, his works are seen in front of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, on the Port Vauban in Antibes, on the Place Massena in Nice, and on the Place des Ormeaux in Valence.

A comprehensive monograph, Jaume Plensa: One Thought Fills Immensity, was recently published in a new edition by Skira.