Exhibitions
Jaume Plensa at the CVNE's centennial winery
The Catalan artist presents an installation of gongs that dialogues with time, the body and space.
The CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) has once again opened the doors of its emblematic Nave II – a century-old space built at the end of the 19th century – to contemporary art, and this time it does so with a piece by Jaume Plensa that, until now, had not been exhibited. The Catalan artist presents A lo largo del día, a large-format installation that can be visited in the historic cellar in the Barri de l'Estació district of Haro until early 2026.
© James Sturcke
The work consists of 24 hanging gongs, one for each hour of the day, each with an English word engraved on it. The public is invited to interact with them, to make them ring and let the vibration resonate through the body and the space. Although Plensa is usually associated with sculptures of feminine faces that are closed in on themselves, this proposal maintains some of the elements that characterize him. The gongs, like the figures, retain a silence loaded with meaning, emanating a contained energy that invites introspection. They are different works, yes, but animated by the same poetic philosophy. Rocío Plana Freixas, an art historian and connoisseur of his work, says that “Plensa has previously worked with gongs in places linked to water and fluids, and there is something atavistic in this connection”. In a cellar like this, surrounded by liquids that also require time and rest, the piece also fits.
© James Sturcke
As the artist explained in a recent interview with Vanitats, the process of selecting the work was not immediate. “When CVNE invited us to exhibit, we spent many days, a lot of time, many weeks discussing which work would be the most suitable. María Urrutia —co-owner and marketing director of the winery— came to see us in the studio. For us, the world of wine was completely unknown. Exhibiting in a winery? We didn't really know how to fit it in naturally, but after a while we said: well, why not? In fact, we were about to discover that we had a lot in common.”
This exhibition is part of the commitment that CVNE has maintained with contemporary art for years. In 2014, they began this line with El viento que no vemos, by Eduardo Chillida, and since then, names such as Cristina Iglesias, Anthony Caro and Pablo Palazuelo have passed through here. The idea is to continue building a story where wine and art go hand in hand. According to María Urrutia, “for us, art and wine share the same language: that of time, transformation and emotion”. And she adds that “Plensa represents this profound dialogue between the visible and the invisible like no other”.
© James Sturcke
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