Oteiza: A Reflection on Space

A Reflection on Space: The Propósito Experimental [Experimental Purpose]

In the early 1950s, Oteiza’s sculptural work took a radical turn. His massive and monolithic sculptures, an occupation of space, were replaced by work that focused on the void and empty space. The focus of his reflection was no longer the object itself, but the space it enclosed or its negative. The mass being sculpted was the space contained within the sculptural work, an “active emptying of space”.

Collaborations with Architects

Oteiza did abundant work in connection with architecture throughout his career. He arrived at the idea of the need to inhabit art, whether in a physical or spiritual way. This concept was already apparent in his South American manifestos; later, when his reflections began to focus on the void, his interest in architecture was almost intrinsic to this formal investigation. The most intense collaborations with architecture came from his connections with the architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíza and his relationship with the Huarte family.

Architectural Work and Urban Design

Beginning in 1960, Oteiza asserted that he had reached an endpoint with his sculptural work and decided to abandon sculpture to explore other forms of reflection, in which architecture and the city played a central role. In these final years of artistic creation, his turned his attentions toward architectural design, creating numerous sketches, chalk drawings and small models that today are no longer considered preparatory studies but works of art in themselves.

The Basilica of Arantzazu

Oteiza’s interventions in the Basilica of Arantzazu marked one of his first collaborations with the world of architecture, a relationship that became increasingly relevant throughout his career. Through this collaboration, Oteiza began a prolific relationship with Francisco Javier Sainz de Oíza, who designed the project for the reconstruction of the basilica together with Luis Laorga. Oteiza’s work in Arantzazu, especially the frieze of the apostles, drew from his reflections on megalithic art and the pre-Columbian sculpture that he had encountered on a trip to Latin America. His intervention was controversial from day one: its aesthetic, too avant-garde in the view of the ecclesiastical institutions, caused the Church to halt the installation of the pieces, which was not resumed until decades later. Over time, the interventions in the basilica, both by Oteiza and by other young artists, took on special relevance for contemporary Basque art and culture.

Legacy

In the final years of his life, Oteiza’s work and his participation in Basque religious and public life became less and less common. In those years, he was reluctant to revisit his own work, and it was not until the creation of the Jorge Oteiza Museum Foundation in Laudio that the definitive catalogue of his work was undertaken. The foundation’s efforts have been central to maintaining and understanding the artist’s work, in addition to disseminating knowledge about him and his importance in contemporary art in Spain and in the world.

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