EDUARDO CHILLIDA
San Sebastián, (Spain) 1924- San Sebastián, (Spain) 2002

He began as a student of architecture in Madrid, but gave it up in order to devote himself to sculpture. From 1948 to 1951 he lived in Paris, where he met Palazuelo. He stayed at the Maison d’Espagne in the Cité Universitaire, where he made figurative works modelled in plaster. A new stage began when he moved to Hernani. He discovered the possibilities of the forge in pieces in which the development of forms in space was combined with a special attention to the texture and colour of iron. In 1954 he began his first public commission, the doors for the Basilica of Aránzazu, and his first solo exhibition was held at the Galería Clan (Madrid). His work began to become known to the public in Europe and the Unites States. He presented solo exhibitions at the Galerie Maeght in Paris (1956) and the Biennale di Venezia (1958), where he received the First Prize for Sculpture. During that period he worked on four main themes –air, fire, music and space- in an extensive series called Elogio del hierro (Praise of Iron), which continued until 1965. In 1959 he took part in Documenta 2 in Kassel. That year he also made his first work in wood, Abesti gogora I (Mighty Song I), and his first works in steel, such as Rumor de límites IV (Murmur of Boundaries IV). In 1960 he received the Kandinsky Prize, and the following year he had a solo exhibition at Maeght (Paris). A journey to Greece in 1963 led, in 1965, to experiments with alabaster, a material that enabled him to begin the series Elogios de la luz (Praise of Light) and Elogios de la arquitectura (Praise of Architecture). He then created a new series in which he concentrated his interest on architectonic aspects of space, working with materials such as granite and concrete. Experimentation with materials also led him to work with clay (luras) in the late seventies. During those decades various of his sculptures were installed in public places, some of them emblematic of his increasing relationships with nature, such as the Peines del viento (Wind Combs) in San Sebastián (1977). His works were also presented in a number of retrospectives: the Guggenheim in New York (1980), Berlin (1991), San Sebastián (1992) and Madrid (1998). In 1987 he received the Prince of Asturias Prize. In 1988 he presented his first exhibition of the Gravitaciones (Gravitations), and in 1996 he exhibited his Tindaya project for the first time. Chillida combines his activity as a sculptor with drawing, illustrating and making works cut out of paper. The Chillida Leku was inaugurated in 2000. Chillida dies two years later in San Sebastián.