Laura
Jaume PLENSA
Spain born 1955
Laura 2013
Cast Iron
Jaume Plensa is best known for large-scale figurative works installed prominently in major cities around the world. Several of these are colossal heads cast in iron while others are cast in polyester resin mixed with marble dust.
Further works are fabricated in stainless steel as cage-like frameworks comprising letters or texts that allude to the theme of globalization. Plensa works both in conventional sculptural media as well as with water, light, sound and video.
With its softly modelled features, Laura is typical of the artist’s series of monumental female heads with their eyes closed in reverie or meditation. Viewed from the front, the heads are exaggeratedly narrow like certain portraits by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti; while the peaceful expression recalls Rumanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s ‘sleeping muses’ in bronze and marble. However, when viewed from the side, Laura appears fully modelled and naturalistic. This interplay of perceptions is a feature of Plensa’s work generally.