Barcelona Artist Installs 25-Foot Sculpture At New Downtown Development

Recently completed at Pacific Gate by Bosa, a new luxury condominium complex in downtown San Diego, is Pacific Soul, a 25-foot sculpture by Barcelona artist Jaume Plensa. Both Pacific Soul and Pacific Gate are at the corner of Pacific Highway and Broadway.

Plensa, who worked with Bosa Development’s fine art consultant Jody Rassell of Fine Art Services LLC, visited San Diego to scout the location. During his tour, he examined the ocean, the port and the waterfront as well as the city’s proximity to Mexico and the scale of Pacific Gate. Soon after, he decided Downtown San Diego and Pacific Gate would be his next Southern California installation.

Plensa’s West Coast public installations include Endless V (2012) in the Beverly Gardens Park in Beverly Hills, Laura and Awilda (2014) in the collection of the Palm Springs Art Museum and Echo, a large portrait, in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Echo is currently installed at the Olympic Sculpture Park. 

“Pacific Soul is inspired by the ocean, our greatest public space and a bridge which connects the world," Plensa said in a statement. "The ocean is always in movement, always changing — we never know precisely where a drop of water will go, or where it has been before. It is filled with potential. That idea also holds true for the community of San Diego. I hope my sculpture will be an icon for the city, embracing the diverse community which is always changing yet always intrinsically connected to the ocean.”