Mistos
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| Mistos | |
|---|---|
 The centerpiece of the installation in 2024. | |
 | |
| Artist | |
| Year | 1992 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Dimensions | 20 m × 9 m × 13 m (790 in × 350 in × 510 in) |
| Location | Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
Mistos (Match Cover or Matches) is the name given to a group of sculptures by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen located in the La Vall d’Hebron neighborhood of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. The statue was unveiled in 1992 in anticipation for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and depicts several matches bending out of a matchbook, with several of the “burned” matches strewn about the nearby intersection. Like most of Oldenburg and van Bruggens’ works, the statues are made of painted steel and concrete.
By the late 1980s, Swedish-American artist Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, had made a name for themselves creating large replicas of household objects for public art installations across the globe.[1] Pieces like Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks (1974) and Spoonbridge and Cherry (1988) helped them gain notoriety, and they were commissioned by Barcelona's Olympic Council to create a piece for the city, as the Summer Olympic Games were to be held there in 1992. Oldenburg and van Bruggen were invited to Barcelona in 1986 by the council, and the piece was subsequently commissioned.[2]
In contrast to many of the other contracted artists who created work to be placed beside the coast, Oldenburg and van Bruggen remarked that they were “more interested in the residential areas being developed for the Olympic Games that would afterward become new neighborhoods”.[2] Accordingly, the piece was designed to be placed in the newly developed La Vall d’Hebron neighborhood, wherein the many competitions were held for the games. The piece is located in front of the tennis area.[3]
