Jaume Plensa, the faces of memory

Exhibition catalogue "Jaume Plensa, the faces of memory", présented at the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne Métropole (9 march - 17 september 2017).

The theme of the body plays a central part in his work, which has materialized in the recent years in the form of oversized figures. The artist, open to all sculptural techniques, recently created monumental heads in cast iron, resin, metal mesh, as well as steel letters.

In the Museum central exhibition space, two large steel mesh faces face each other, massive and light, present and transparent. A large-scale drawing of a face with melted edges and a blurred appearance, made directly on the wall, seems to be diluting in space. Five bronze portraits of young girls measuring over 13 feet high stand side-by-side without looking at one another. The latter are emblematic of the recent work of Jaume Plensa.