Confluences

  • Henry Moore

    Sculpture on stone or marble is but a temporary loan from nature, modelled by culture. With the passage of time, nature closes the cycle. Moore's modelling, by contrast, considers both nature and culture: he deconstructs the human figure to blend it into the landscape.

    Group of two female figures, Early 2nd century AD, white marble

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    Henry Moore © The Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, VEGAP 2022 / henry-moore.org

    Reclining woman I, Henry Moore, 1980, bronze

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  • Eduardo Chillida

    Chillida's first contact with the complexities of space was as a goalkeeper for Real Sociedad. The very hands he had stopped footballs with explored an infinite number of possibilities, such as the worshipper’s fingers having a dialogue with the intangible. Praying is embracing the invisible.

    Our Lady of Sorrows, Sebastián Ducete - Esteban de Rueda, 1618-1620, polychrome wood carving

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    Eduardo Chillida © Zabalaga Leku, VEGAP Barcelona, 2022

    Lotura XIV [Knot XIV], Eduardo Chillida, 1991, iron

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  • Joan Miró

    Miró's famous constellations have numerous readings. One of them is linked to the 12th chapter of the Apocalypse and was used by the baroque painter Murillo for building a definitive iconography of Mary’s Immaculate Conception: they share the Moon, the stars and allusions to fertility.

    Immaculate Conception, Antoine Dupar, 1718-1728, polychrome wood carving

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    © Successió Miró 2022

    Constellation silencieuse [Silent constellation], Joan Miró, 1970, bronze

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  • Julio González

    There are works of art, such as this late Gothic-style woman's head, which require the public collusion: the figure looks us in the eyes while crying to convey her tragedy to us. By contrast, Julio González's cubist head is introspective, indifferent to the visitor's interpretation.

    Female figure, Alejo de Vahía Workshop, Late 15th century , polychrome wood carving

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    Tête double tête [Head double head], Julio González, 1934 -1936, bronze

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  • Gerard Mas

    There can be no aesthetic kinship as close and, at the same time, no message as counterpoised between an ironic sculpture that imitates medieval aesthetics and two polychrome wooden reliquary busts. The first preserves the mortal remains of saints, while the other is a post-modernist version of a poignant femme fatale.

    Relic bust of a saint, First quarter of 16th century, polychrome wood carving

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    Dama de les vespes, Gerard Mas

    Lady of the wasps, Gerard Mas, 2009, polycrhome polyester resin

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  • Aurèlia Muñoz

    The aerodynamic dynamism of Saint John's robe, in polychrome wood, contrasts with a three-dimensional macramé phylactery that explores the possibilities of fabric as sculpture. Revelation versus rebellion. Optical illusion and faith versus plasticity and experimentation.

    Saint John the Evangelist, Juan de Montejo, circa 1600, polychrome wood carving

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    © Hereus d’Aurèlia Muñoz

    White ovals, Aurèlia Muñoz, 1981, macramé with white line

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  • Manolo Valdés

    A uniform symbolises submission to a set of rules. We have two exceptional cases before us: Saint Clare abandoning her status as a wealthy noble and founding a mendicant order; and Mariana of Austria, who reigned while Carlos II was still a minor, although fully subject to the strict rules of court.

    Polyptych of the Life of Saint Clare, circa 1500, painting on tablet and polychrome wood carving

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    © Manolo Valdés, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2022

    Queen Mariana II, Manolo Valdés, 1999, bronze

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