Eduardo Chillida

Mikel Chillida, the artist's grandson, leads us through the Threshing Barn, Pigsty and Workshop galleries, where we encounter seminal works in plaster, wood, steel, iron, granite, Chamotte clay and paper, dating from 1948 to 2000. Demonstrating the breadth of Eduardo Chillida’s (1924 – 2002) artistic materials, the exhibition highlights his ongoing relationship to architecture and spirituality, figure and space, music and philosophy. The Threshing Barn features one of the earliest plaster works made by Chillida, ‘Yacente (Recumbent)’ (1949) and a further work, ‘Forma (Form)’ (1948) in bronze.

Much of Chillida’s practice is marked by a rebellion against gravity, with works appearing as though they are floating or suspended in space. In making the outdoor sculpture, ‘Harri VI (Stone VI)’ (1996), Chillida rounded off and perforated the edges of the solid granite block to produce an effect of lightness from a material of great density, mass and weight. Chillida frequently stated that matter moved downward, the spirit moved upward. This thought process can be seen continued in his ‘Gravitación (Gravitation)’ series, manipulating sewn paper and thread to allow an openness for air to circulate between layers, a weightlessness that alleviates the tension between soul and body.

‘Lotura VIII (Knot VIII)’ (1991) continues this tradition, a work at the peak of Chillida’s artistic maturity that opens up vibrantly into space, configuring, wrapping and quietly inhabiting it. Rejecting molds or molten metal, Chillida focused on mastering his material in the forge - making two longitudinal cuts in a single block of metal and manipulating the arms that emerge into an embrace. The work on view in Somerset is part of a long series of more than 30 sculptures, created between 1991 and 2000, of which the monumental ‘Lotura XXXII (Knot XXXII)’ currently stands at Chillida Leku.

Made in the last decade of the artist’s life, ‘Elogio del Cubo, Homenaje a Juan de Herrera (In Praise of the Cube, Homage to Juan de Herrera)’ (1990) expresses Chillida’s admiration for the sixteenth century Spanish architect Juan de Herrera. The outdoor work conveys a sense of eternal presence and enduring cogency of the cube, created during a milestone year for Chillida in which it was first presented at the Hayward Gallery, London.

The gallery is open to the Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm. In order to share a safe and positive experience, we ask that you read our Visitor Guide and book a timed reservation here.