Jaume Plensa: Beyond Silence, opening at GRAY Chicago on September 17, marks the artist’s tenth solo exhibition with the gallery. Bringing together monumental carved-wood reliefs, dramatically vertical sculptures in cast iron and granite, and intimate bronze works, Beyond Silence examines two long-standing central tenets of his practice—scale and material. Unified thematically in their representation of the figure, the artist explores the possibility and continuity of our shared human experience.

At the center of the exhibition are two monumental relief sculptures in carved wood, Beyond Silence (Julia) and Beyond Silence (Maria), each measuring twenty-eight feet in length. The works engage directly with the architecture of the space, spanning the gallery much like the wooden trusses that define the interior. Their monumental scale transforms the human figure into an architectural presence, collapsing the distinction between sculpture and the built environment. 

Installed alongside the reliefs are three sculptures from a new series, Clouds, each measuring seven feet in height. Combining cast iron with granite, the works bring together materials of contrasting texture and appearance. The industrial character of the cast iron is set against the smooth surface of granite, producing an unexpected sense of suspension and weightlessness.

The center of the exhibition holds bronze sculptures from the Twilight series, each approximately twenty inches high. The smaller scale of the bronzes shifts the encounter from the architectural to the personal, inviting a more intimate viewer experience. 

The exhibition opens at GRAY Chicago with a public reception from 6-8 PM on September 17, 2026, and remains on view through December 19, 2026.