Spain Series - Sculptures

Richard Serra's The Matter of Time at the Guggenheim, Bilbao was at first glance a series of swirly patterns made from rusty steel. On closer inspection, this statement piece had a hypnotic effect on the viewer and invited the curious to wander amongst the huge and often claustrophic circles.

Jeff Holzer's Electronic LED sign columns at the Guggenheim was a mesmerising technical wizardry: the digital texts on each column ran in opposite direction to each other.  It was irrresisitible for the viewer to walk through the beams to the other side, with an eerie feeling that a time and space barrier had been breached.

Jeff Koon's The Tulips outside the Guggenheim.  A beautiful, transparent colour coated chrome and stainless steel sculpture.  Stand in front of each one and you see your own reflection, bended and twisted, just like the reflection you see in those funny mirrors in fair grounds.  These flowers gave me a sense of childlike wonder.

An unusal light fitting at the Parador Alcala de Henares. It could be a courgette flower, an upside-down mushroom cloud, an UFO, a spaceship, or anything that a diner could care to dream about.

A sinister sculpture in Leon, depicting alienation, forlorness, and despair.  It was urban street art at its most frightening.  Apart from the dozens of noir paintings of Jesus Christ on the Cross that I saw in  art museums and cathedrals throughout Spain, this sculpture had the effect of grabbing me by the throat and made me feel breathless. 

San Jeromino Penitente, a sculpture by Juan Martinez Montanes at the Museo des Bellas Artes at Seville. Known as the God of Wood, this 17th century sculptor from Jaen executed his sculptures in wood, which was then painted, polychromed and gilded.  The realism was truly remarkable.