Whenever the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa is in Chicago, the first place he stops is the northeast corner of Michigan and Monroe. When he arrives there this week, it will be to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Millennium Park and his famed Crown Fountain—and to attend the openings of a pair of exhibits of his head sculptures in the park and at Richard Gray Gallery. Over the phone from Germany, where two solo shows of his work are being held this summer, Plensa describes the urge to visit Crown Fountain as a sort of impulsive pilgrimage of reassurance. “I feel every time I have to go check to see if it’s still there,” he says, “to make sure that it wasn’t just a dream.”
Even Lester Crown, the patriarch of the billionaire family that shelled out $10 million of the $17 million cost of the fountain, balked at the final estimate for Plensa’s piece after initially opting not to bog down his chosen artist with budgetary concerns. Plensa remembers the meeting “around the big table” in which Crown asked if the artist could reduce the scale of the fountain for financial reasons. “If you can reduce Chicago,” the Spaniard recalls saying in his defense, “then I can reduce my piece.” Crown allowed the project to continue in line with Plensa’s original vision.
Lecture: Jaume Plensa Mon 6/16, 6 PM Fullerton Hall, Art Institute of Chicago 111 S. Michigan
312-443-3600artic.edu
“1004 Portraits” Opens Wed 6/18, through December 2015 Millennium Park, South Boeing Gallery 201 E. Randolph
