Cristina Iglesias at the Sainsbury Centre - new work for the Sculpture Park

Cristina Iglesias
From 14 November in the Sculpture Park at UEA, Norwich

Internationally acclaimed Spanish installation artist and sculptor, Cristina Iglesias (b. November 1956), presents two major sculptures at the Sainsbury Centre, UEA. This free Sculpture Park exhibition places Iglesias’ work in dialogue with Norman Foster’s iconic Sainsbury Centre building.
Celosía XI (Hafsa Bint Al-Hayy) (2006) consists of seven terracotta screens that evoke the lattices in Arab architecture. Iglesias co-opts their traditional geometric patterns by incorporating words into the structure of the screens. Passing through the enclosures is akin to reading passages of text. The title refers to the celebrated Andalusian poet Ḥafṣa bint al-Ḥājj ar-Rakūniyya (1135–1191).
The immersive installation Vegetation Room III (2005) is a defined architectural space. The interior walls are casts of organic vegetation. The combination of natural and architectural elements complements the aims of the Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park: to bring together art, architecture and the natural environment.

This exhibition reunites the work of Cristina Iglesias and Norman Foster, who have collaborated on a number of projects. Iglesias’ sculpture can be seen in front of the Bloomberg Headquarters, London, which was designed by Norman Foster. She has also created a canopy for the façade of the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid.
Both works are free to view on the West Lawn as part of the Sculpture Park. A trail map is available here.

In collaboration with Marian Goodman Gallery and Cristina Iglesias Studio.

Exhibition Information
Cristina Iglesias
From 14 November
FREE to visit in our Sculpture Park
Visit sainsburycentre.ac.uk or call 01603 593199 (Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm)

About Cristina Iglesias
Cristina Iglesias draws on poetry, literature and architectural theory to create immersive and experiential environments. Important site-specific public art projects include the doors of the extension to the Prado Museum, Madrid and Deep Fountain at the Leopold de Wael Platz, Antwerp. Her recent solo exhibitions include Centro Botín, Spain (2018), Musée de Grenoble, France (2016), BOZAR, Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium (2014) and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Spain (2013). She was awarded Spain’s National Visual Arts Award in 1999 and London’s Royal Academy Architecture Prize in 2020. Iglesias studied sculpture at the Chelsea College of Art, London and lives and works in Madrid.


About the Sainsbury Centre
The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is one of the most important public university art galleries in Britain. It was founded in 1973 at the University of East Anglia (UEA) with the support of one of the nation’s great philanthropic families, Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury, who donated their extraordinary art collection which includes works dating from prehistory to the late 20th century from across the globe. A radical new building by Norman Foster was designed to house the collection and was his first public work.
 
The Sainsbury Centre holds one of the most impressive art collections outside of the national institutions. It includes a significant number of works by modern masters of European art such as Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Jacob Epstein, Jean Arp, Chaïm Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani. There are major holdings from Oceania, Africa, the Americas, Asia, the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as Medieval Europe. Alongside these permanent collections, it hosts a range of exhibitions in the largest suite of temporary exhibitions galleries in Eastern England.  sainsburycentre.ac.uk
 
About Marian Goodman Gallery
For over forty years, Marian Goodman Gallery has played an important role in introducing European artists to American audiences and helping to establish a vital dialogue among artists and institutions working internationally. Marian Goodman Gallery was founded in New York City in late 1977. In 1995 the gallery expanded to include an exhibition space in Paris and in 2014 an exhibition space in London. In late 2016 she realised her dream of opening a bookstore and project space in Paris.  mariangoodman.com