A New Public Art Sculpture by Angel Orensanz in Zaragoza

Sculptor Angel Orensanz travelled to Zaragoza (Northern Spain) this Spring to work quietly in an expansive metal work factory for several months. A few days ago he has just moved his art work, a 15 feet diameter sculpture piece from the construction yard into the center of the City in a parade of civic pride and art celebration. The crowds flanked the center of the city and the avenues en route to the sculpture's final destination. The permanent site is at the foot of a soaring two towers brand new building in the new sprawling capital of Aragon, the autonomous region between Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The concept, the design and the sculpture too resonate with the tragically banished WTC world icon in downtown New York. Angel Orensanz witnessed its demise from the top of his Foundation and studio building, just four miles away, the very early morning of September 11, 2001.

The Zaragoza "Sphere of the World" is a sculpture piece and not a political or an industrial progress statement. It is a sculpture, in which the likeness of world preserves its basic roundness but is not massive and uniformed. It portrays an exploding cauldron of diverging directions and processes.

Zaragoza (Caesar Augusta) is a two thousand year old Roman founded city, erected to celebrate Emperor Caesar Augustus Pax Hispanica. Zaragoza, as the capital of Aragon, is reinventing itself as a major player in the Spanish and European expansion and world scene. Its glorious past included a centuries old thriving metropolis of complementing Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures. At this very moment it is getting ready to stage an international Water Exhibition about the world water crisis and expectations and is laying the grounds for a Las Vegas type of miles and miles long entertainment world hub.

Thousands of people flanked the streets to cheer the long truck bed that moved smoothly the art piece and sculptor Angel Orensanz himself through the center of the City to its final destination, passing by landmark buildings evocative of two thousand years of urban life.

Angel Orensanz fascination with the sphere has developed over the years. "It is the most universal concept in human culture, from Parmenides to Einstein. This one in steel is a final version of a transparent one that I built in New York, and rolled down Fifth Avenue, from the Metropolitan Museum to City Hall to mourn the tragic events of September 11. This sphere portrays a new world in constant transition and redefinition of itself," he was telling the press in Zaragoza during the parade.

A New Public Art Sculpture by Angel Orensanz in Zaragoza

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A New Public Art Sculpture by Angel Orensanz in Zaragoza

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