The city of Caen is appealing for donations to acquire a sculpture by Jaume Plensa
The Lou sculpture, so far loaned by the artist Jaume Plensa, will soon be purchased by the city of Caen thanks to private and state contributors. A public campaign is also broadcast from February 14 to keep the work in front of the Château de Caen.
The face has become familiar to the people of Caen when they pass the city’s castle, they don’t want to part with it. ” Do not leave me “. This is the name of the appeal launched to the general public by the Caen Fine Arts Museum for the acquisition of the statue Lou by the Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa (born in 1955). Lent in 2018 to the Norman institution by the contemporary art gallery Lelong, it was due to leave in 2022. However, the city of Caen has announced its wish to acquire the work which has become part of the artistic landscape of the city, at the entrance to the castle, near the Museum of Fine Arts. The subscription was made with major patrons: the Ministry of Culture, the Normandy region and the city of Caen. The museum also wanted to open a call for donations accessible to all. With a target of 600,000 euros, a public crowdfunding campaign on the KissKissBankBank platform will be open between February 14 and April 9, 2022. It is also possible for visitors to make a free donation in a ballot box placed at the entrance. .
An emblematic work of the city
4.5 meters high, the cast iron statue represents the gentle face of a woman. Its monumental aspect comes as a counterpoint to the peaceful features of the figure represented. The work is now emblematic for the Museum of Fine Arts and for the city. The artist Jaume Plensa seeks this integration of these works in the urban space. A large part of his creations takes place in a landscape or a city.
More and more metropolises are even ordering it. Voice in 2018 in New York is the most recent. A sculptor and draftsman with an international career, his prints were the subject of a retrospective at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen. It seems to have as a recurring motif the features of female faces with closed eyes and drawn hair. Carlota is built on the same model, Sylvia also, carved this time in the white stone of alabaster, reinforcing the innocent and sad aspect of the statue of a young girl.
The practice of crowdfunding for the acquisition of works of art seems to be increasingly common. In December 2021, the Fabre museum in Montpellier also launched a public fundraising campaign to acquire the triptych The impossible encounter by artist Yan Pei Ming.