Contemporary art sculptures and sculptures by César Montaña (Vegadeo)

• Vegadeo
• Sculpture

The town of Vegadeo has the peculiarity of being crossed by two rivers: the Monjardín and the Suarón, which have twelve bridges that cross them (six each). Taking advantage of this circumstance, the idea was that visitors to Vegadeo could get to know the town center by crossing these bridges, and enriching the visit with a sculpture on each of them.

Currently there are 7 sculptures of contemporary Asturian art, all of them of authors linked to the west of Asturias (the rest are either pending placement or had to be removed as they were damaged by the flood of 2012).

Ferreira Bridge

It is a work, called the same as the bridge, which consists of the placement of 7 slate plates that cover one of the sides of the bridge, 3 of which are engraved with plant motifs. Its author, Mª Jesús Rodríguez (Oviedo-Asturias), chose this bridge for being the only rural bridge left in Vegadeo and for being one of the “ends of the town between the city and the countryside”. Located in the map with the number 1.

Travesías Bridge

The next bridge where we can see a sculpture is on the “Puente Travesías”, located next to the Fairgrounds. In it, Ricardo Monjardín (Boal-Asturias), leaves several messages about fish in 22 oval pieces placed along the entire structure of the bridge, which simulate the scales of a fish. All of them constitute the work“Pontepeixe”. Located in the plan with the number 5.

Fondrigo Bridge

The next bridge, the “Puente del Fondrigo”, has two sculptures by the artist “Francisco Fresno” (Villaviciosa-Asturias). One of them is called“Del Tiempo” and it is a prism of Corten steel with some concavities and hollows that represent the wear produced by the passage of time. The second was carried out two years later due to the poor state of conservation of the bridge and consisted of replacing the old parapets of the bridge with double openwork lattices. Both sculptures are made of the same material and have the same oval holes.Located in the plan with the number 6.

Slaughterhouse Bridge

We continue with the bridges of the Suarón River. The first one we come across is the “Puente del Matadero” (Slaughterhouse Bridge). On this bridge is the sculpture“Arboladura”, a large mural of almost 3 x 5 meters with which the sculptor José Legazpi (Taramundi-Asturias) wanted to pay tribute to the shipwrights, which was one of the traditional trades of this town. Located on the map with the number 7.

Reguera Bridge

In the “Puente de Reguera” we see the work of Herminio (La Caridad – Asturias) entitled“Rotura en el espacio”. It is a steel bar of square section with two deep cuts in which the bar folds causing a composition of three elements arranged in a seemingly impossible balance from any angle you look at it. Located on the map with the number 9.

Abraira Bridge

On the next bridge, the “Abraira Bridge”, we can see the sculpture“Embrace”, a geometric quadrangular piece of one meter on each side and intense blue color of the artist Luis Fega, born in Vegadeo (Piantón – Asturias). This work, as its title indicates, embraces and frames different landscapes of the environment, whether white buildings or green mounds, depending on where you look at it. Located on the map with the number 10.

Entreseca Bridge

Continuing along the Cesar Montaña walkway that leads us to the Vegadeo Recreational Areawe find in the “Puente de la Entreseca” the sculpture“Vida” (Life). It is a sculpture of 20 meters and of an intense red color that develops along the bridge using as support one of the parapets. According to its author Vicente Pastor (Luarca – Asturias) this sculpture reflects “the natural world and the human world forced to coexist”. Located in the plan with the number 11.

César Montaña

In addition to these works of contemporary Asturian art, we can see three other sculptures by César Montaña, an Asturian sculptor born in Vegadeo (1928-2000):

“Reading in Penarronda”, is a sculpture located in the Plaza de la Llanera, in South Street, representing a woman lying on the sand of Penarronda Beach reading a book. It is an unpublished work cast in bronze from a plaster cast that was in his workshop. Located on the map with the letter E.

“The Blacksmith”, located in the Institute of Secondary Education Elisa and Luis Villamil, and representing one of the traditional trades of the Oscos-Eo region.

“La Venus Algálica del Eo”, located in the park of Vegadeo in homage to the writer Álvaro Fernández Suárez, born in Porto (Ribadeo). Located on the map with the letter B.

Town Hall Square

Finally, in the Town Hall Square, there is the sculpture“L’Eté” by the French sculptor Mathurin Morau, located on an iron fountain. Although many locals believed that it was the Goddess Ceres, in reality this sculpture depicts a young teenager representing summer, dressed in old-fashioned clothes and wielding a sickle in one hand and a rake in the other. Located on the map with the letter C.