Contemporary Sculpture

ARCO Madrid 2024

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The countdown has begun. ARCO Madrid is just around the corner and from Galeria SENDA we are finishing all the details so that this year we can show you in our stand, 9B23, the latest creations of our beloved artists of the house.

For our thirty-first participation in ARCO, one of the most influential fairs on the international scene, we have invited those who are pillars of our identity and history as a gallery, as well as new young and emerging proposals.

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Jordi Bernadó – «Last & Lost»

This year we are very happy to show you part of Jordi Bernadó‘s new photographic project, “LAST & LOST“. This series of eight photographs, shown in a solo exhibition at Galeria SENDA and part of a larger project, question the ecological and philosophical challenges of the present, dealing with issues such as sustainability, the relationship between technology and nature, the horizons of our future or the role that democracy will play in the fight against new environmental threats. The photographs in “LAST & LOST” portray lost places, endangered ecosystems, areas rendered unfit for habitation due to pollution, and life forms struggling to survive in practically barren landscapes. The artist becomes, then, a witness and spectator of ecological catastrophes in an ambiguous state between existing and not being able to be; just surviving.

Snowy landscape with a small tree

Jordi Bernadó. Old Tjikko, Mörkret, Sweden (S 6.2)cc (2022)
UV printing on methacrylate, mounted on dibond., 180 x 240 cm

Jaume Plensa

Another of the artists that backbone and shape the personality of our gallery is Jaume Plensa, the famed sculptor from Barcelona with an unparalleled international projection. For this edition of ARCO Madrid, Plensa presents his work based on contradictions: light and darkness, the trace of the past and the opening towards the future, natural contradictions and the creations of man’s hand, the immensity of noise and the most intimate spheres of silence.

Photograph of a bronze head sculpture with four hands covering the eyes and mouth.

Jaume Plensa. Who Are You? VI (2016)
Bronze, 38 x 15 x 15 cm

Anthony Goicolea

In contrast, Anthony Goicolea shows us that art can mean brutality, capturing in his plastic works the different prisms and perspectives of social issues such as gender, culture or traditions. Goicolea pours into his artwork his personal and family history, marked by being born Cuban, being gay and practicing the Catholic religion in the south of the country in the early seventies. These factors forged his awareness of social constructions, such as regional traditions or rituals, and how these elements influence and define our identities. In this edition of ARCO, Goicolea will show works in graphite and on oil, where visitors will be able to find themselves in front of subjects that could well be taken from theatrical performances or novels.

Double painting where, in each one, half of a man's body is represented

Anthony Goicolea. The Magician’s (2023)
Oil on canvas, 127 x 254 cm

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra

Another artist invited to exhibit at our stand at ARCO Madrid is the Chilean Sandra Vásquez de la Horra. Through a multiplicity of techniques ranging from three-dimensional pieces, charcoal, watercolor and wax; Vásquez de la Horra traces bodies that she conceives as geographical entities. These bodies, now territories, are divided into two planes: the physical-terrestrial and the mystical. In the physical aspect, the artist narrates with her work the political charge of the people’s resistance against the Chilean dictatorship. On the other hand, in the mystical aspect, Vásquez de la Horra takes the concept of the seven planes or chakras to dialogue in unison between the universe and the Earth.

Paper art installation representing two heads, one on top of the other

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra. Las Cholitas (2024)
Graphite and watercolor on waxed paper, 106 x 77 cm

Evru Zush

It is also characterized by the creation of unique and fantastic forms, Evru Zush. With a mix of techniques and disciplines, Zush presents his “Naga” series, made up of creatures that seem to come out of a science fiction movie.

Drawings of heads attached to tails, similar to those of fishes

Evru Zush. Serie Naga (2018)
Graphite on paper, 24.7 x 9.7 cm

Elena del Rivero

In addition, we will have the presence of the Valencian Elena del Rivero, an established artist who, from New York, continues to produce her artistic projects. Elena Del Rivero‘s work is divided into two lines: a historical one, exploring the collective pain of loss, and a personal one, focused on the construction of existential pillars.

Picture of eight feathers drawn on paper

Elena del Rivero. Flying Letter #24 (2011-2014)
Drawing, 73 x 54.6 x 21.5 cm

Stephan Balkenhol

Stephan Balkenhol will also participate in ARCO Madrid with his wooden work “Man with pink tie“. Balkenhol has managed over the years to establish himself as an artist who perseveres to reintroduce figurative sculpture in the current contemporary scene. His polychrome works are characterized by the contrast between the splinters and shavings that Balkenhol leaves when he effusively carves the raw material of his creations, wood, and the polished areas of the same.

Wooden sculpture of a man with black jacket, white shirt and pink tie

Stephen Balkenhol. Man with pink tie (2022)
Carved wood, 120 x 95.5 x 11.7 cm

Gonzalo Guzmán

Another artist of monumental carvings that joins ARCO is Madrid-born Gonzalo Guzmán. The artist presents in this edition of ARCO his new sculptural project through which Guzmán has tried to explore the inner self using lucid dreams as tools of inspiration and self-knowledge to create works that challenge our belief system. This is why his sculptures represent the metallic structures that appear in his dreams and explore the possibility of reproducing the sublime of the subconscious in reality.

Stainless steel menhir

Gonzalo Guzmán. Menhir_06 (2023)
Stainless steel, 275 x 100 x 60 cm

Gino Rubert

Committed to seduce the eye with the works he creates in order to invite reflection, Gino Rubert represents experiences and emotions through a fusion of artistic disciplines. With a complex technique that mixes the collage of photographs and everyday materials with acrylic and oil, the artist represents the figure of the new woman and the new man, their functions, dysfunctions, conflicts and rhetoric.

Painting of a woman on a railing in a pink dress with pins attached to the surface of the canvas

Gino Rubert. La Barana (2024)
Mixed/canvas, 55 x 46 cm

Yago Hortal

Yago Hortal maintains a close relationship between the artwork itself and the action painting itself. For Hortal, the canvas is part of a performance in which the artist consciously creates spontaneous color forms in an infinite range, expressing passion and vivacity. The paint seems to come out of the canvas, provoking the desire to want to touch it.

Yellow, pink and navy blue broad brushstrokes on a blue and pink gradient background

Yago Hortal. Z86 (2024)
Painting, 50 x 60 cm

Xavi Bou

Another artist who stands out for his spectacular composition is Xavi Bou. With his well-known series “Ornitographies“, a chronophotography project that reveals the invisible patterns that birds trace in the sky when they fly, Bou creates a balance between art and science and, in turn, builds a series of works loaded with visual poetry that hypnotize viewers.

Black and white photograph of a rock in the middle of the sea with a sky full of birds

Xavi Bou. ORNITOPGRAPHY #275 (2018-2019)
Digital print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl 285 gr/m2, 140 x 200 cm

Peter Halley

Peter Halley will be in our Artist Project space as an artist, with a solo show that connects his past stages with his most recent work. In this exhibition visitors will be able to analyze in detail the artist’s most emblematic piece: “Exploding Cell” (1983). The animation that represents this computer is directly inspired by the Cold War and its ravages.

Download Dossier “Exploding Cell“
Photograph of the entrance of an art gallery with paintings on display and a television playing an animation

Peter Halley. Exploding Cell (1983)
Digital Animation

Glenda León

This year we will also be able to enjoy the work of multidisciplinary artist Glenda León, both in our general program and as a guest in the special session entitled “La orilla, la marea, la corriente: un Caribe oceánico“, an exhibition space within ARCO with 23 guest artists that will be curated by Sara Hermann, chief curator of the Centro Cultural Eduardo León Jimenes (Dominican Republic), and Carla Acevedo-Yates, from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Small blue mineral-like piece

Glenda León. Sueño concreto de Miró (2022)
Concrete and acrylic, 20 x 20 x 7 cm

We look forward to seeing you in the corridors of ARCO enjoying the art that will be condensed these days in Madrid and that, of course, we can meet at stand 9B23 of the gallery. If you want to be surprised with a wide and rich gallery proposal in disciplines, you will always have a corner where you can escape from the overwhelming atmosphere that a fair as imposing as ARCO can cause. SENDA will always be a space, the path, where you can find yourself again.

Jaume Plensa beyond La Pedrera

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Currently, the work of Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa can be seen in numerous venues around the world, including the exhibition at La Pedrera in Barcelona from March 31st through July 23rd, 2023. However, beyond this exhibition, Plensa‘s work is diverse and complex, and deserves an in-depth review. In this article, we want to explore his work beyond his current exhibition in Barcelona, and highlight his time in our gallery over the years.

From March 31st, at La Pedrera, you will be able to discover the most intimate and unknown Plensa in an exhibition that, for the first time, reveals the influence that literature, language and the alphabet have had on his work.

Image of a metal sculpture being lifted by crane to La Pedrera

Installation of Jaume Plensa’s work at La Pedrera

This exhibition is a unique opportunity to delve into the most particular work of this internationally renowned sculptor. With a career spanning from the late twentieth century to the present, Jaume Plensa has stood out for his work on the human figure, where he often fuses matter, words and music in a constant dialogue. This exhibition, curated by Javier Molins, will show some of the artist’s most representative pieces, as well as his evolution over the years.

Image of people photographing a metal sculpture picked up by a crane

Jaume Plensa during the installation of his work at La Pedrera

From Galeria SENDA, having exhibited the sculptor’s work on more than one occasion, we are thrilled that the city of Barcelona receives it in such an honorable way. It makes us especially excited to remember his passage through the gallery, which never goes unnoticed.

At the end of 2016, Jaume Plensa held his first exhibition at Galeria SENDA: «El Bosc Blanc», after 7 years without exhibiting in Barcelona, his hometown. Plensa presented a work that confronted what is shown with what is hidden, the past with the future, the natural construction with the creation by the hand of man, and the sound vibration with silence.

Gallery view, 2016

Gallery view, 2016

The exhibition consisted of various sculptures of young, female faces representing individuality within the social collectivity. The white pieces, “Lou“, “Duna” and “Isabella“, seemed to float on the floor and were complemented by graphite drawings on the wall. Plensa sought for the viewer to connect with the pieces and find their own path through the works placed in the space.

For more information, you can listen to this explanatory video of the artist:

At the end of 2020, he returned to present a new exhibition «La Llarga Nit» at Galeria SENDA, in which he praised the mysterious time of the night, capable of inspiring the soul of poets. The works in the exhibition presented sleeping and silent figures, with a lyrical and contemplative dimension. Plensa suggests that, by having to stop the machinery of doing, humanity is putting into function the machinery of thinking, generating new ways of living in the world. The exhibition included suspended sculptures, works on paper, among other works.

Photograph of an art gallery displaying a sculpture and a painting
Photograph of an art gallery where a bust sculpture is exhibited

Gallery view, 2020

Gallery view, 2020

In addition, beyond the exhibitions, Plensa accompanied us on two occasions last year. The first time he participated with Javier Molins in a talk that took place at the gallery on the occasion of the presentation of the book “Artists in the Nazi camps”. In this talk, Plensa and Molins shared their reflections on the work of artists who were victims of the Holocaust and its importance in the history of art. The second occasion was also in 2022, when he participated in another talk together with photographer Jean-Marie del Moral and journalist Màrius Carol during the presentation of the book «Interior, 2022» by By Publications. In this #SENDATalks, they shared their experiences and reflections on art and creativity in today’s world.

However, even further back in time, in 2017, German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol and Jaume Plensa met on the gallery’s mezzanine to talk about «Sculptures and Public Space» in a dialogue about their trajectory and their interest in promoting sculpture as a value for society and culture.

We are grateful to have been able to witness Plensa‘s unwavering commitment to contemporary art and the opportunity to present his work in a gallery in his own city.

Poesia del silenci, Jaume Plensa

If you are interested in learning about the available pieces by Jaume Plensa, do not hesitate to contact us by email senda@galeriasenda.com or at our SHOP online:

Jaume Plensa – ALCHIMISTES I
Jaume Plensa, Interior

«Poetry of silence», an exhibition by Jaume Plensa at the Fundación Bancaja in Valencia

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Comprising nearly a hundred works, the exhibition covers Jaume Plensa’s production from 1990 to the present and has as a common thread the influence of literature and literature in his artistic production.

This morning, the Fundación Bancaja presented the exhibition “Jaume Plensa. Poetry of silence“, one of the largest retrospectives to date of one of the most renowned sculptors in international contemporary art. The exhibition reviews the artistic production of Jaume Plensa during four decades with the original influence of literature and letters in his work as a common thread, being the first retrospective to be developed from the prism of this creative universe that has been a constant throughout his career. The presentation was attended by Jaume Plensa; the president of the Fundación Bancaja, Rafael Alcón; and the curator of the exhibition, Javier Molins.

Image of an exhibition of paintings by Jaume Plensa
Installation shot, Poetry of Silence
Image of a sculpture by Jaume Plensa
Installation shot, Poetry of Silence

The exhibition is made up of about a hundred pieces dating from 1990 to the present, based on his sculptural work but also including works on paper. The exhibition tour reveals to the public some unpublished sculptures created by Plensa during the COVID-19 confinement, which are presented for the first time. The pieces presented include the iconic sculpture “Together” (2014), which was exhibited in 2015 at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore during the Venice Biennale and has not been exhibited since.

Image of journalists interviewing a man in front of a sculpture by Jaume Plensa

The artist Jaume Plensa for TV3

Literature has always been a source of inspiration for Jaume Plensa. T.S. Eliot, William Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe or Vicent Andrés Estellés are some of the writers who have accompanied him throughout his life and have served as inspiration for countless works. This literary influence also extends to the letter itself as an element with which he composes his sculptures.

The exhibition shows how Plensa has used letters in many different ways, whether on curtains, gongs or the human body, perhaps his best-known works. This intersection of language with the human body is one of the bases of Plensa‘s work. As the artist explains, “a letter seems nothing, it is something humble, but together with others they form words, and words form texts and texts form thought“.

Image of an exhibition of Jaume Plensa
Image of an exhibition of Jaume Plensa

The sculptor began with the Latin alphabet and gradually incorporated other alphabets, such as Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Cyrillic, Korean, Hindi, etc. For Plensa, each letter has a unique beauty, but all of them together are a sample of the diversity of the world and the coexistence of different cultures.

Image of three men and a woman inside a sculpture by Jaume Plensa
From left to right: Javier Molins, Carlos Durán, Jaume Plensa and Laura Medina

The retrospective includes both large and medium-sized works as well as Plensa‘s more intimate small-format works. Along with the presence of literature as a source of inspiration, the exhibition includes other constant themes in his career such as silence, dreams and desire, music and family.

The exhibition “Jaume Plensa. Poetry of silence” can be visited at the headquarters of the Fundación Bancaja in Valencia (Plaza Tetuán, 23) from November 25, 2022 to March 19, 2023.

All the information here:

https://www.fundacionbancaja.es/exposicion/jaume-plensa-poesia-del-silencio/