Elogio del agua, Public art sculpture in Parc de la Creueta del Coll, Spain.

Elogio del agua is a 54-tonne reinforced-concrete sculpture suspended by four steel cables from the former quarry walls above the back of the lake in Creueta del Coll park. A square upper block sends four curved arms downward, a form recurring in Chillida's work. It measures 12 m high, 7.2 m long and 6.5 m wide, and was cast in situ in a formwork filled with concrete.

Chillida chose the site himself while the Creueta del Coll park, a former granite quarry, was still under construction. The sculpture was cast in situ in reinforced concrete and inaugurated on 2 May 1987 by mayor Pasqual Maragall, the day after Chillida received the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. In 1998 a corroded tension cable snapped and the piece fell, injuring three tourists.

The work's title reflects the relationship between water and art that visitors experience as they walk around the hanging form suspended above the lake. The arrangement of the arms creates tension between the heavy mass above and its reflection below.

The park remains open year-round during standard daylight hours, allowing visitors to view the sculpture from multiple angles. Wear sturdy shoes as the ground around the water basin can be uneven.

In 1998 the 54-tonne block fell when one of its steel tensioners broke from fatigue and rust, and flying fragments injured three tourists. The pond beneath was drained and the area closed off, so the reflection Chillida wanted—he said the water made the other half of the sculpture—can no longer be seen.