The Hudson River has a new tenant of the most special: water's soul (The soul of water), the new sculpture by James Plensa inaugurated today in New Jersey.
With a height of 24 meters , it is the largest public sculpture of Plensa to date and will be permanently installed in Newport (Jersey City), on the banks of the river and directly facing Lower Manhattan.
Water's soul represents the face of a young woman with her finger on her lips in a state of silent contemplation. The sculptural portrait, though monumental in scale, makes a humble gesture of stillness, a call to empathic self-reflection.
With its mystical and serene beauty, the Plensa (Barcelona, 1955) installation serves as a tribute to the Hudson River, aligning itself with the Spanish sculptor's continuing interest in bodies of water as representatives of humanity.
“Water is a wonderful metaphor for humanity. A drop of water is quite alone, like a single person, but many drops together can create a tidal wave and form immense rivers and oceans , reflects the author of Julia.
“When people come together to exchange ideas and create a community , we can build something incredibly powerful”, concludes the artist.
"Water is a wonderful metaphor for humanity."
THE DEEP VOICE OF WATER
Sometimes, the noise not only does not let us hear, nor does it allow us to see, slow down, stop, feel. The traffic, the works, all those voices that overlap and they fight to be the one that finally prevails, the radio in the background –the one we hear but do not listen to–, the car alarm and, on many occasions, even our own voice, they do not let us notice the murmur of the water.
A murmur that is sometimes a whisper and sometimes is a gasp. “The human body is 60% water, and water is the origin and basis of life. In a state of constant flux, water is the symbol of perpetual transformation. And it is without a doubt the most important type of public space on earth. The water is a bridge that unites continents, communities and cultures ”, affirms the author of the sculpture.
“El Alma del agua is an invitation to silence, to listen to the deep voice of the water that speaks to us and asks us to connect. It is an invitation to listen the transformative power and immensity of our dreams” he continues.
Jaume Plensa in his studio in Sant Feliu de Llobregat.
Water's Soul does a nod to the historic hudson river pier in which it is located, a place that witnessed much of the trade in and out of New York City on ferries and rail barges during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The sculpture acknowledges this past while expressing the collective hope that humanity will build a better world: "Since the climate change already threatens to take over our beautiful planet, we must come together to protect water as one of the most precious elements of nature. It is not owned by anyone, but it belongs to all of us. Water is the source of life and Water's Soul is a celebration of life” , affirms Jaume Plensa.
"Water's Soul is a celebration of life."
A NEW ICON
“My wish is that Water’s Soul becomes a landmark on both sides of the Hudson River. Just as Water's Soul acts to unite Jersey City and New York City, we are reminded that water is the great public space that unites and embraces to both communities and people from all over the world”, says Plensa, who was selected by LeFrak Y Simon, developers from the waterfront community of Newport, to create a site-specific facility.
According to Richard LeFrack , President and CEO of the LeFrak Organization, “Over the course of three decades, Newport has become a vibrant and diverse community. We are proud to welcome Jaume Plensa's impressive sculpture to this one-of-a-kind neighborhood as we continue to establish Newport within the growing arts scene that is taking shape in Jersey City.”
"After a generation of incredible work, determination and investment, this area has truly been transformed from what was once a barren land into a vibrant and thriving community ”, says David Simon, president and CEO of Simon.
“This magnificent sculpture by Jaume Plensa is a phenomenal representation of the cultural sense of place that Newport embodies ”, he concludes.
A poetic silence.
THE OTHER WORKS OF PLENSA
Jaume Plensa lives and works in Barcelona, his hometown, and is one of the most important sculptors in the world in the public sphere with projects ranging from Chicago and San Diego to Dubai and Bangkok, passing through Calgary, Montreal, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Madrid.
Some of his recent works include sculpture Laura , in Century City (Los Angeles); dreaming , in the heart of Toronto; Y voices , permanently installed in the 30 Hudson Yards skyscraper in New York.
Plensa's sculptures speak of the power and beauty of humanity , often bringing people together and inviting us to inner reflection through the activation of public spaces.
New Jersey versus New York.
In his works, conventional sculptural materials such as glass, steel and bronze are mixed with media such as water, light and sound to create hybrid works of intricate energy, psychological weight and symbolic richness.
He is also a great lover of the juxtaposition of materials and concepts: interior and exterior, light and darkness, heaven and earth... All with a view to making it the relationship between the viewer and the object who completes the work.
JULIA, COLUMBUS'S GIRL
Julia arrived at the Plaza de Colón in Madrid in 2018 her to stay temporarily but the following year, the City Council announced that she would stay until December 20, 2021.
The sculpture – 12 meters high – has the appearance of a girl for, in the words of the artist, introduce a "little tenderness" in the place.
'Julia', in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid.
Made of polyester resin and white marble dust, Julia, which "she is addressed to the heart of our being" , she has her eyes closed because, according to the Velázquez Prize for the Arts in 2013, she "she looks for each one to express the hidden inner world of her".
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