Sculpting A Coruña

Browsing galleries in a city taken by sculpture

A Coruña’s artistic scene is a match-made in heaven for lovers of quick museum visits, ‘I’ll just pop in’ gallery browsing, and free exhibitions. Throughout the city you can find installations and statues in parks, streets, and on walls - there’s even what I have termed ‘Stonehenge’, a collection of menhirs overlooking the Ferrol coastline.

Sculpture in A Coruña: Menhires, Pez, and Fonte Das Surfistas

You’ve already received my visitor guides to the Irving Penn Centennial and the Museo Bellas Artes, both located here in the city centre. While running errands in the sun this week, I spotted the AFundación as I strolled along the busy pavement at Obelisco. Remembering that I had seen an Instagram post about the free exhibitions there, I jumped into one of their panoramic glass lifts, enjoying the view over the Port until I reached the 3rd floor.

AFundación

Here the ‘ESPACIO Y TIEMPO’ (Space and Time) exhibition begins, spanning four floors which should be explored from the top down. On display are numerous sculptural pieces from ABANCA’s collection (AFundación standing for ABANCA Fundación, seconding Inditex, Abanca own a lot here in Galicia), all exploring the relationship between sculpture, painting, and architecture. The pieces originate from the 20th and 21st century and represent the will to break barriers with contemporary aesthetic language.

Being the first exhibition from Abanca fully centred on sculture, ESPACIO Y TIEMPO has a lot to prove - and I think they might have just done it. Materials range from granite to terracotta, and techniques from carving to collage line the spacious exhibit rooms. The pieces were all created by artists from Spain and Portugal, including Manolo Paz, Baltasar Lobo, Torre Mirón, and Washington Barcala. This exhibition puts the spotlight directly on sculptors.

Torre Mirón

Arranged in chronological order starting from the 3rd floor, the exhibition covers modernism, the 20th century, abstract, and evolution. The 3rd floor begins with a rotating sculpture of a man and a woman arm in arm, Tromba Marina (Waterspout), created by Rafael de la Torre Mirón in 1935. Red cedar figures of Venus and Parcae are upheld by ocean waves - the statue encompasses the themes of love and death, and true to form for the Coruñese, the power of the sea.

Torre Mirón, Tromba Marina 1935 | Washington Barcala, Cabeza dibujada y otra en construcción 1992

Washington Barcala and Balthasar Lobo

In your second circuit you will encounter a collage piece made by Washington Barcala in 1992. I was so excited to find some collage works in this exhibition, as someone who loves creating similar works. My own art felt instantly validated by Barcala’s work hanging on the wall of a museum, my own collages now holding new weight.

My favourite sculptures on this floor were these human forms by Balthasar Lobo. The artist is known for his depictions of mother and child. I love the smooth curves of bronze and plaster, and the surrealist abstract shaping that he uses.

Balthasar Lobo, Á la source 1989

Francisco Leiro

Looming over the 1st floor stands this towering wooden figure by Francisco Leiro, Muda o Cacho. I can’t say I particularly like this cyclopean piece, but I can’t deny that it’s impressive. Leiro uses irony and ambiguity to sculpt his human forms, playing with metaphor and expression.

This exhibition is actually, surprisingly to me, my favourite that I’ve visited so far in A Coruña. The combination of detail, blunt shapes, bodily forms, and (my favourite medium), collage, is the ideal recipe for a contemporary collection. It was perfect for a quick morning visit, and is interesting enough to entice me to wander round again.

There are many more notable works on display in AFundación, some of which I have misplaced the artist’s name. I will leave them here for you to browse, and maybe you can pop by the exhibition and locate the source yourself.

The ESPACIO Y TIEMPO exhibition is open from 21 February - 30 August 2025.

Sculptural works in AFundación Coruña

Bonus art spotted:

On my walk home after touring the exhibition I spotted this tiled piece just off Calle Nueva. It was situated in a lovely quiet entryway to a house, and gave me some of the fresh, detailed, Spanish colour that I’ve been craving in this monochrome city.

Carved concrete piece by Elena Colmeiro spotted on Calle Nueva

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