On view now
© 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