La Cara de Barcelona, Barcelona

La Cara de Barcelona is a monumental face sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein, created with Diego Delgado Rajado. The work rises about 15 metres and spans 6 metres, giving this waterfront landmark an unusually broad, graphic presence. Look at the face itself: thick strokes build the eyes, nose, and lips, while a field of red dots gives the surface the feel of a giant printed image.

Lichtenstein made the sculpture from eight prefabricated pieces of artificial stone, joined with stainless-steel clamps and covered in ceramic tile; the complete work weighs about 90 tonnes. It belongs to his Brushstrokes series, where a painterly gesture becomes a solid object. The tiles also acknowledge the broken-tile mosaic technique associated with Gaudí and Jujol. Built in 1992, it formed part of Barcelona’s preparations for the Olympic Games.