Jaume Plensa (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʒawmə ˈpɫɛnsə]) (born 1955) is a Spanish Catalan artist and sculptor.[1]
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Plensa was born at Barcelona. Plensa studied art in his home city, in the "Llotja" School and in the Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi.
His works include the Crown Fountain at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois in the United States.[2] It opened in July 2004.[3][4] The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers. The towers are 50 feet (15 m) tall,[3] and they use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display digital videos on the inward faces.
Another work is Blake in Gateshead, in North East England, a laser beam that on special occasions shines high into the night sky over Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. In the summer of 2007 he participated in the Chicago Public Art exhibit, Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet.
In 2007, working closely with a group of local ex-miners, he was also commissioned to create a new work on the landmark site of a former colliery near St Helens, Merseyside, as part of the Big Art Project, a major national public art initiative linked to Channel 4. Unveiled in spring 2009, the Dream consists of an elongated white structure 20 metres (66 ft) tall, weighing 500 tons, which has been carved to resemble the head and neck of a young woman with her eyes closed in meditation. The structure is coated in sparkling white Spanish dolomite, as a contrast to the coal which used to be mined there.[5]
On 16 June 2008 Jaume's sculpture of a listening glass entitled Breathing was dedicated by the incumbent Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, as a memorial to journalists killed whilst undertaking their work. The sculpture in steel and glass sits atop a new wing of Broadcasting House in London. At 22:00 GMT each evening a beam of light will be projected from the sculpture extending 1 km into the sky for 30 minutes to coincide with the BBC News at Ten.[6]
El alma del Ebro (see photo) was created for the International Exposition in Zaragoza, the theme of which was "Water and Sustainable Development". It is eleven meters high, the sculpted letters representing cells of the human body which is over 60% water. Its white letters and hollow structure invite the view to look inside and reflect on the relationship between human beings and water.
From May to mid-August 2011 the work Echo is being displayed in Madison Square Park.[7]