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 A modernist sculptor and drawing master from the Basque section of Spain that includes his birthplace, San
Sebastian, Eduardo Chillida did early work that focused on the human
figure, especially torsos and busts, but later did massive abstract
pieces from concrete, cast iron and steel. One of his very largest
sculptures, De Musica, weighs 81 tons and has arm-like pillars
that reach towards each other but do not touch. It was exhibited
in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Yorkshire, England. In 1992, his concrete Hommage to Tolerance was exhibited at the Worlds Fair in Seville, Spain.
During his career, he lived much of his life in a house overlooking the
bay in San Sebastian in northern Spain. The view includes his own
sculpture, Wind Combs, which is a grouping of three forms
embedded in the coastal rocks. Public works by him are also in
Barcelona, Guernica, Seville, Paris, Frankfurt and Dallas, Texas.
Chillida studied in Madrid and then went to Pairs where he was
influenced by Pablo Palazuelo in his first figurative work, done in
plaster and clay. Other influences were Frank Lloyd Wright,
Albert Giacometti and Joan Miro. In 1950, he began doing
printmaking---lithography, woodcuts, etchings, drypoints and
silkscreens. His graphics are not related to his sculpture but
are creative expressions unto themselves. During the 1960s, his
graphics tended to be massive black lines on white, giving the
appearance of realistic shapes. Towards the end of his life, he did
graphic reliefs.
Of his art expression, Chillida said: "I'm of the opinion, and
this is very important to me, that we are from somewhere. Ideally, we
are from one place, where our roots are, but we should reach out to the
entire world and borrow ideas from other cultures. Anyplace can be
perfect for the person who's adapted to it. Here in the Basque Country
I feel like I'm where I belong, like a tree adapted to the land, but
with branches that reach out to the rest of the world. I'm trying to
create the work of a person, my own work because I am who I am, and
since this is where I'm from, my work will take on particular tones, a
sort of dark light, our light."
(http://www.eduardo-chillida.com/index.php?L=3)
The collection of the Eduardo Chillida sculpture is at the Zabalaga estate,
Basque region property near San Sebastian that he and his wife, Pilar
Belzunce, purchased in 1984 with family funds. They continued to
buy land to expand their holdings, and called Chillida-Leku, it has
been turned into a sculpture garden so that many people can enjoy the
work of the sculptor. The architect, Joaquin Montero, has been
helpful in restoration. The purchased part of the estate includes
a 16th century traditional farmhouse, that was dilapidated at the time
of acquisition, and which has served as a storage place for Chillida's
sculpture when it is in the final oxidation stage.
Sources include:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Chillida
http://www.eduardo-chillida.com/index.php?L=3
http://www.eduardo-chillida.com/General-Information.2+M57d0acf4f16.0.html
http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2004/09/08/32345.html
http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2000/july/chillida.php
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