Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, August 9, 2023: Eduardo Chillida, a Spanish sculptor (#1874)

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Artist of the Day, August 9, 2023: Eduardo Chillida, a Spanish sculptor (#1874)

One of the foremost Spanish sculptors of the twentieth century, Eduardo Chillida (1924 – 2002) is widely celebrated for his monumental public sculptures and enduring fascination with interconnected shape, space and organic form. Chillida challenged the constraints of materials such as iron and steel to redefine the language of postwar sculpture, drawing on a deep connection to his native Basque region. Chillida’s public sculptures were commissioned globally and he travelled extensively to Paris, Greece, Umbria, Tuscany, Rome and Provence, each informing new artistic paths.

Eduardo Chillida achieved international recognition with works displayed at the 1958 Venice Biennale. His sculpture is characterized by his craftsman’s respect for materials, both in his small iron pieces and in his later, monumental works in granite.

After studying architecture at the University of Madrid from 1942 to 1947, Chillida turned to sculpting in clay and plaster. Moving to Paris in 1948, he began to work in iron. Three years later he returned to Spain to settle in Hernani in the Basque region, which remained his home. After producing works primarily in iron for 10 years, including four iron doors for the basilica of Aranzazù (1954), he turned in 1960 to large sculptures in granite. His first one-man show was in Madrid in 1954; afterward he had shows in Duisburg, Germany, Houston, New York City, Munich, and other cities. Chillida was awarded the sculpture prize at the Venice Biennale in 1958, the Kandinsky Prize in 1960, the Carnegie International Prize in 1964, the Andrew Mellon Prize in 1979, and the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for sculpture in 1991.

Chillida preferred to work with elemental forms, pared down to satisfy his essentially ascetic vision. His iron sculpture is marked by the contrast between the solidity of the iron and the openness of the design. His later granite works are also marked by their contrasting relationships, in particular the architectonic relationship of the large stone masses. Unlike most modern sculpture, his work is the product of direct contact with his materials, through forging metal or carving stone. Coming from a long tradition of Spanish metalworkers and stone-carvers, he retained a craftsman’s feeling for his materials.

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