Two Jaume Plensa sculptures head for Benidorm after a Gandía stay
Silvia and Maria, the monumental works by Jaume Plensa, have already charted their next resting place. Having spent time in Gandía since July 15 of last year, these striking figures are set to relocate to Benidorm. Beginning Monday, April 3, they will find a temporary home in the city, marking another stop in a journey that has carried them through multiple Valencian towns and public spaces.
In Benidorm, two components of Plensa’s larger installation will be installed in Plaza Santa Ana, near Castell de Benidorm. The move involves careful preparation this week: pedestals will be prepared to receive the statues, and the surrounding environment will be harmonized so the pieces can be appreciated as intended in a public, outdoor setting. This careful staging reflects a broader cultural initiative that integrates contemporary sculpture into civic life, turning everyday spaces into open-air galleries.
These works form part of a broader program funded by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation in collaboration with the Mercadona Foundation. The initiative aims to bring high-profile art into public communities, making culture accessible to a wide audience while supporting artists and cultural institutions. The transfer to Benidorm continues a curated circuit that has already included several Valencian cities, each hosting part of a larger narrative about sculpture, urban space, and public engagement. The movement of Silvia and Maria follows a path that has seen public art travel from one historic site to another, inviting residents and visitors to engage with modern sculpture in familiar, everyday contexts. The project embodies an ongoing commitment to cultural access, education, and the enrichment of public spaces through art (Attribution: Hortensia Herrero Foundation; Mercadona Foundation).
In their more than seven feet of height, each piece weighs around 7,500 pounds. The imposing silhouettes are designed to interact with the urban landscape, offering viewers a moment of reflection as they pass by. When positioned in Plaza Santa Ana, the sculptures will contribute to the cultural fabric of Benidorm, providing a focal point for residents and tourists alike to pause, observe, and contemplate the human form translated through Plensa’s signature abstraction. The arrangement of the works in this privileged setting underscores a philosophy that art should live in the heart of the city, accessible and engaging to all who walk through the square.
The journey of these two heads, originally part of a temporary exhibition hosted by the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia in 2019, underscores the lasting impact of public art. The exhibition drew close to 1.2 million visitors, spotlighting how contemporary sculpture can captivate diverse audiences and become a shared cultural memory. After that show, the two sculptures traveled to Elche and later to Vila-real and Gandía as part of an artistic patronage project designed to spread arts and culture across the Valencian Community. Over time, the pieces have gained a place in the public psyche, symbolizing the region’s openness to modern aesthetics and the value placed on supporting artistic endeavors through philanthropic collaboration (Attribution: Hortensia Herrero Foundation; Mercadona Foundation).
Each element of the installation, standing at seven feet tall and weighing roughly 7,500 pounds, is crafted to withstand outdoor exposure while inviting close consideration from onlookers. The forthcoming installation in Benidorm promises to offer a new vantage point on Plensa’s exploration of form, identity, and the relationship between sculpture and space. The arrangement in Plaza Santa Ana will likely attract art enthusiasts and curious passersby alike, turning the square into a living gallery where weather, light, and public interaction continually alter the viewer’s experience. This ongoing display reflects a broader cultural strategy to place significant contemporary works in accessible urban settings, widening the audience for modern sculpture and reinforcing the role of philanthropy in sustaining public art initiatives (Attribution: Hortensia Herrero Foundation; Mercadona Foundation).