Jaume Plensa’s stainless-steel sculpture To JW Goethe (variant VIII), 2016 a gift from Steven M. Strauss, Class of 1978, and The Strauss Family Foundation, is now in the entrance to the Agora at the Robert Day Sciences Center. Alumnus Steve Strauss ’78 donated the sculpture to CMC given its “universal language of letters, numbers, and symbols which are an appropriate metaphor for the integrated sciences.” Plensa is one of today’s leading contemporary artists and widely recognized for his public sculpture that often involves language and the human body to bring connections across a varied audience. Plensa is inspired by literature and poetry, and he cites T.S. Eliot, Dante, Blake, Shakespeare and Goethe as some of the key influences for his work. Please see the artist’s biography below for further background. The sculpture is available for viewing during normal building operating hours.
About the Artist
Jaume Plensa, born in 1955 in Barcelona, is a major international figure in contemporary sculpture. A significant part of his oeuvre is conceived specially for the public space. His sculptures can be seen 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, to name only a few. In France, they are seen in front of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, on the Port Vauban in Antibes, on the Place Masséna in Nice, and on the Place des Ormeaux in Valence.
Numerous galleries and museums across Europe, the United States and Asia have exhibited Plensa’s work. Landmark exhibitions in his career include one held at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona in 1996, which travelled to the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris and the Malmö Konsthall in Malmö in Sweden the following year. In Madrid, Plensa received particular acclaim for the exhibition “Chaos-Saliva”, which opened in 2000 at the Palacio de Velázquez – Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Most recently, his work has been 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.
Jaume Plensa has received numerous national and international awards, including the Medaille de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, in 1993, and the Government of Catalonia’s National Prize for Fine Art in 1997. In 2005, he was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In Spain, he received the National Prize for Fine Art in 2012 and the prestigious Velázquez Prize for the Arts in 2013. With “Together”, Collateral Event of the 56th Venice Biennale, Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore, Jaume Plensa obtained the Global Fine Art Award for the Best Public Outdoor Installation in 2015. In 2018, he was awarded Honorary Doctorate from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
A gifted draughtsman, Plensa has also held many exhibitions dedicated to the graphic arts. A comprehensive monograph, Jaume Plensa: One Thought Fills Immensity, was recently published in a new edition by Skira.
Full biography can be accessed here and more on the artist here. Biography and artist profile and photograph courtesy of Galerie Lelong, Paris.