Eduardo Chillida (1924-2002, Donosti) is one of the most important Spanish sculptors of the twentieth century, in addition to being one of the most respected and internationally recognized. His architectural studies in Madrid greatly influenced the formal and conceptual manifestation of his sculptures. He is best known for his monumental abstract pieces in steel. Many of his works preside over public and emblematic places. His works have become landmarks themselves, such as El peine del viento (The comb of the wind), located at the gates of the UNESCO office in Paris, and the sculptures on the beach of Ondarreta (Donosti, Spain) that are an undisputed symbol of the Cantabrian Sea and the identity of the Basque people. Basque culture is present and constant in all of his work: in the materials he chooses, in the conceptual inspiration for the work, and through his titling of most of his works in Euskera, the co-official language of the Basque Country, Spain. He cannot be understood without his context and his cultural heritage. 

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Chillida is an artist who understands emptiness as an indispensable element for the sculptural form. His questioning of volume and the value of masses, and his tendency towards monumentality, brings him closer to sculptors like Henry Moore. Achitectural and geometric concerns are an undisputed characteristic in his works.

 

Eduardo Chillida won the Grand Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1958. Two years later, he received the Kandinsky Prize. He recieved other international awards throughout his life as well. In 1980, the Guggenheim Museum in New York dedicated a memorable retrospective to him. Two years before his death in 2000, he inaugurated his own museum in his homeland. The musuem is conceived as a great work of art itself, with large gardens where, following the tenets of his work, sculptures are integrated into the space and allow the viewer to walk among them. 

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Gravitation #25, 1988
Suspended Amate papers

23 7/16 x 31 5/16 inche