Then he might quickly disappear, a magician in his gold suit and top hat.Įspecially in the early stages of his career, Byars favored ephemeral work and lightweight, easily transportable materials, such as cloth and paper. His performances were brief, sometimes lasting only a few seconds. He even traveled to his place of death, choosing to rest beneath the pyramids. Byars never stopped wandering he lived and worked at various times in Japan, the Alps, Berlin, Venice, Nova Scotia, Los Angeles, and New York. In this way, an intimate and unique dialogue is established between Jaume Plensa's works and the emblematic building of the architect Antoni Gaudí.The American artist James Lee Byars would sometimes refer to himself ironically as the “World’s Most Famous Unknown Artist,” a fitting title for a man who made of his whole life a performance and a play, but who so often remained just out of reach, inaccessible, a fleeting presence. And on the street, in front of the facade of La Pedrera, Flora (2021). In the attic, three versions of Hortensia (2022), two in bronze and one in wood and two of Martina (2021), one in wood and the other in bronze. On the rooftop, Silent Music IV (2019) and Day-Night (2012) in the courtyards Overflow (2023) and Together (2014), the latter made for the exhibition that took place at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore during the Venice Biennale (2015). Outside the exhibition hall, ten medium and large format pieces have also been installed in various spaces of La Pedrera. The exhibition reveals to the public some unpublished sculptures created by Plensa during the COVID lockdown, among others. Along with the presence of literature, and especially poetry, as a source of inspiration, other thematic constants in his career such as silence, dream and desire, music, and family are also present.

The retrospective includes both large and medium format works as well as more intimate works in small format. The exhibition revisits Jaume Plensa's artistic production during five decades with the original influence of literature and letters in his work as a common thread, a retrospective that develops from the prism of this creative universe that has been a constant throughout his career. Poetry of Silence', which can be visited until July 23 and includes more than 100 pieces of large, medium, and small format that will occupy the exhibition hall and other spaces of La Pedrera building. Catalonia La Pedrera Foundation presents the exhibition 'Jaume Plensa.

The most unknown