The two editions of the “International Street Sculpture Exhibition” held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1973 and 1994 contributed, with the introduction of magnificent sculptures by renowned artists, to the embellishment and improvement of the city’s public spaces.
The great scenic impact of these monumental sculptures in the city’s parks and avenues has contributed to bringing citizens closer to artistic experiences, as much as it has fostered debate and has placed the city at the forefront of international modern sculpture by turning Santa Cruz de Tenerife into a fantastic open-air museum.
First edition
The first edition of the “International Street Sculpture Exhibition” was held in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife between the winter of 1973 and the spring of 1974.
It was organised by the Culture Commission of the Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro Demarcation of the Canary Islands Architects’ Association and sponsored by the City Council and the former Caja General de Ahorros de Canarias Savings Bank.
The exhibition’s committee of honour was formed by painter and sculptor Joan Miró, architect José Luis Sert, and art critics Sir Roland Penrose and Eduardo Westerdahl.
All the selected works, by living and deceased sculptors, were at the avant-garde of modern art and were placed in the city’s main public spaces – the García Sanabria Park and the Rambla de Santa Cruz. Currently, more than 30 sculptures remain in the city as part of the heritage of the people of Santa Cruz.
Second Edition
The second edition of the “International Street Sculpture Exhibition” took place in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1994, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the city. Its main objective was to combine the extension of the collection with the restoration and maintenance of the existing sculptures.
Like the first edition, it was organised by the Culture Commission of the Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro Demarcation of the Canary Islands Architects’ Association at the request of the Santa Cruz Cinco Siglos Foundation, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of La Laguna, the Menéndez Pelayo International University, together with the Government of the Canary Islands, the Tenerife Island Council and the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council.
As in the previous edition, all the selected works were part of the avant-garde of modern art and were created by leading international sculptors.
The Spanish artists selected for the first edition were:
José Abad, Andrés Alfaro, Néstor Basterrechea, Rubio Camín, Xavier Corberó, Jaume Cubells, Feliciano Hernández, Amadeo Gabino, Jorge Jiménez Casas, Eduardo Gregorio, Josep Guinovart, Marcel Martí, Remigio Mendiburu, Joan Miró, Eusebio Sempere, Pablo Serrano, Francisco Sobrino, Josep María Subirachs, Gustavo Torner and Ricardo Ugarte, and the then deceased Alberto Sánchez, Óscar Domínguez, Pablo Gargallo, Julio González and Manolo Millares.
The international artists selected for the first edition were:
Kenneth Armitage, Bernard Meadows, Henry Moore and Eduardo Paolozzi came from England; Claude Viseux from France; Mario Ceroli and Arnaldo Pomodoro from Italy; Gotfried Honegger from Switzerland; Mark Macken from Belgium; Alexander Calder from the United States, Alicia Penalba and María Simón from Argentina, Jesús Soto from Venezuela, Federico Assler from Chile, and Agustín Cárdenas from Cuba. There were also works on loan from deceased sculptors such as Italian Marino Marini and Russian Ossip Zadkine.
The artists selected for the second edition were:
Susana Solano, Jaume Plensa and Juan Bordes from Spain; Sir Anthony Caro from England; Ulrich Rückriem and Igor Mitoraj from Germany; Mario Merz from Italy; Negret and Botero from Colombia; Sylvain Marc from Belgium; Beaumont from Holland; Kan Yasuda from Japan, and Jesús Soto from Venezuela.