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Current Exhibitions

Laura with Bun by Jaume Plensa

On view now

Jaume Plensa (Spanish, b. 1955) Laura with Bun, 2014.. Cast iron.
© Jaume Plensa. Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York
Photo: Courtesy Skip O’Rourke/Tampa Bay Times

Jaume Plensa is an internationally acclaimed artist who has exhibited his sculptures in museums all over the world. In locations as diverse as Seoul, Paris, Chicago, Bordeaux and London, Plensa’s monumental sculptures have reaffirmed the power of art to transform a public space into a community. This is aptly demonstrated in his first major commission in the United States, The Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park (2004). Two 11-story LED towers face each other across a thin pool of water, with images of a changing and diverse city reflected in the water, a continuously cycling metaphor for the life of a city.

The Crown Fountain was the beginning of Plensa’s investigation of the portrait via photography and form. This led to works like Laura with Bun. At more than 23 feet tall, this artwork expresses both individual and universal traits at great scale, inviting viewers to consider multiple aspects of beauty and human nature. Like all of his large-scale female portrait heads, Laura has her eyes closed, as if looking within. In speaking about these works, Plensa has said, “Look into yourself. My piece is a mirror to reflect your image, so you can think about your own interior—how much beauty we have inside of ourselves.”

Laura with Bun initially came to Tampa as part of the 2016 exhibition Jaume Plensa: Human Landscape. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous gift and the overwhelming popular support of nearly 100 donors, the Museum has committed to purchase the sculpture for our permanent collection. For their support of this purchase, we are most grateful to:

Anonymous

Celia & Jim Ferman

The Williams Family

Penny & Jeff Vinik

Mark Anderson & Keith Bucklew

Maureen & Douglas Cohn

Stephen & Marsha Dickey

Sara Golding Scher & David Scher

Allison, Robby, Dallas, & Adelaide Adams

Carlton Fields

Blake & Tate Casper

PNC Bank

Susie & Mitchell Rice in honor of Michael Tomor

Jeff Tucker & Len Kizner

FRIENDS of the Museum

And all the Friends of Laura:

Burton N. Mulford & R. Dean Hamric

Mary Alice McClendon

Sara & Mort Richter

Tampa Downtown Partnership

Thomas Hochhausler & Sung Lee

Julianne McKeel

Sharmila & Vivek Seth

Ellen & Don Stichter

Mrs. John Brabson in honor of her family

Reba Cardillo

Margo & Hilliard Eure

Drs. Daniel & Jamie Fernandez

Holmes Hepner & Associates Architects

Rob Iles & Mike Paonessa

Sue & Bob Isbell

Judi Kelly

Arnold & Gail Levine

Keith & Judith Maurer

Ingeborg Michaels

Dr. Richard E. & Mrs Mary B. Perry

Robin C. Sharp & Annemarie Christino

Barbara & Fell Stubbs

Laura & Ed Waller

Linda Rice

William M. Blanchard

Donna & Tom Brumfield

Suzanne Camp Crosby

John Hunter

Sandy & Floyd Juster

Art Keeble

Bob & Kathy Lewis

Leslie & Hampton Stephens

Your Neighbors at TAPS Restaurant Bar & Lounge

Pam Wysocki

Sharon & Lew Sibert

Anonymous

Hillary Carlson Cone in memory of Douglas P. Cone

Todd Edwards

Candy Olson in honor of

Charles, Henry, Edward & Margaret Jaskowiak

and Lynnea & Robbie Cobey-Broad

Keen O’Sullivan

Ellen & Bruce Houghton

Susan Landa in memory of Peter Landa

Grant Wilson & Diana Stevens

in memory of Laura Lundgren

Jim & Susan Casebeer

Chris & Stephanie Arnold

Dolores Coe

Ana Cruz

HJ Freeman

William Hein

Nancy, Ryan, & Briana Kipnis

Bill & Pam Michul

Bill Rogers

Julie Graham Sargent

Bob & Cathy Smith

Lincoln J. Tamayo

Alison Watkins

Marilyn & Robert Farber

David & Diane Drapcho

Colin DeVito

Harrison DeVito

John & Patricia Gorzka

in honor of Julia Gorzka Freeman

Bill & Judy Graham

Gail R. Hirsch

Jennifer Holmberg

Beth Iandoli

Marcia Israeloff & Paul Jacobsen

Kathy, Natalie, & Kaitlin Lowy

Amy, Michael, & Myla Martz

Joe & Laraine O’Neill

Mindy & Carl Snyder

Dana & Paul Whiting Jr.

Anonymous

Marilyn Zoidis

Alice Prida

Martha Coulter

Miriam B. Zack

Julia, Brett, & Jack Freeman

Mr. & Dr. Sarro

Anonymous

Abby Jetmundsen

Leo Pevnick