Jaume Plensa, MACBA, Barcelona, 30 November 2018-28 April 2019

The objects in this exhibition are not objects: so runs Jaume Plensa’s rationale for his self-titled sculpture show at the MACBA. Rather, we should understand his works as encapsulations of being: the coming-together of time, nature, morality, and philosophical and artistic ideas.

If the exhibition is as intriguing as it sounds, it’s not one to miss. On the one hand are works representing the human figure, on the other are more abstract pieces. We’re invited to think about the relationship between the two, keeping in mind that they both embody those wider concepts listed above.

With the sculptures stretching back to the 1980s, what patterns can we find, and what breaks?

Plensa works hard here to appeal to just about anyone with an interest in culture or philosophy: his sculptures are informed by literature, religion, music and thought.

Although this is Plensa’s first exhibition in Barcelona for 22 years, he has won global acclaim, having exhibited as far as Japan and North America.

The MACBA is the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art. Opened in 1995, it seeks to document both modern art as a whole and its relationship to Barcelona.

The MACBA building is a fine example of new rationalist architecture, and well worth a visit in itself. Expect clean lines, light-filled spaces and geometrical patterns.