Sixteen years ago, the start of the new art season was given a sugar rush when 300,000 special sugar sachets mysteriously appeared in over 70 of Barcelona’s beloved bars, cafés, and restaurants. Printed on each of these sachets was a bold typographic statement: “A CLOTH OF COTTON WRAPPED AROUND A HORSESHOE OF IRON TOSSED UPON THE CREST OF A WAVE”, along with a diagrammatic emblem of a throw’s trajectory.

Weeks later, this ephemeral and distributed sculpture by artist Lawrence Weiner (1942–2021) was emblazoned across a five-metre-high wall in the patio of the Fundació Suñol—in Catalan, Spanish, and English. Inside the Nivell Zero space, visitors could hear the same words transformed into a catchy track by Ned Sublette and The Persuasions.

Weiner’s project “THE CREST OF A WAVE” reimagined what public sculpture could be, unfolding in four distinct components: the sugary ephemeral sculpture, the wall installation, the sound piece, as well as a live action. Each part encouraged audiences to dive into Spain’s mercantile and maritime past, weaving together stories of trade, commercial power, and the biography of materials.

The project’s live action occurred by the waterfront in early October, when an iron horseshoe wrapped in a cotton cloth was ceremoniously tossed onto the crest of a wave.

This year, a little sugar and caffeine boost might be exactly what is needed to tackle the new exhibition season ahead, which begins with the 15th edition of Manifesta in Barcelona and surrounding cities, followed by the explosion of Art & Gallery Weeks & Weekends in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Palma and beyond.