02 Margen Izquierda In.Pdf

1. Jose Ramón Carrera (1935) “Tribute to Basque Sport” (1974) 2. Agustín Ibarrola (1930) “Chimney Characters” (2002) 3. Vicente Larrea (1934) “Samothrace” (1971) 4. Koldobika Jauregi (1959) “Stone Forest” (2001) 5. Moisés de Huerta (1881-1962) Monument to Nicolás Esparza (1929) 6. Juanjo Novella (1961) Monument to Saturnino de la Peña (1992) 7. Agustín Ibarrola (1930) “The Iron House” (1989) 8. Josep Llimona (1864-1934) Pantheon of Manuel Calvo (1911) 9. Quintín de Torre (1877-1966) Pantheon of the Braulio Chavarri family 10. Miquel Blay (1866-1936) Monument to Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1903) 11. Adolfo Areizaga (1850-1918) “The Four Seasons” (1878): “Neska del Txorierri”, Baserritarra de Orozko”, Etxekoandre” and “Jauntxo de Arratia”. 12. Juanjo Novella (1961) “Polaris” (2000) 13. Néstor Basterretxea (1924) “Meridian” (2003) 14. Miguel García de Salazar (1877-1959) Monument to Cristóbal de Murrieta Mello (1923) 15. Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) “The Sardine Seller” (1964) 16. Higinio Basterra (1876-1957) Pantheon of the Oráa-Sanz family (1933) 17. Pepe Noja (1938) “To Life” (1981) 2. EZKERRALDEA

The left bank of the river estuary is a metropolitan conurbation with an industrial past, currently under- going a complete transformation, that provides a good number of public works of art. Its towns hold some important sculptures, mostly carried out in recent times. The itinerary includes the oldest romantic statues in Bizkaia, some funerary pantheons, a few but signiﬁ- cant commemorative monuments and an important number of contemporary works. There is also an open air museum of sculpture in Santurtzi, open since 2003, and a public space for temporary exhibition of works of art in Barakaldo. The immense majority of the artists are from the Basque Country. Josep Llimona (1864-1934) and Miquel Blay (1866-1936) are two important Catalan exceptions EZKERRALDEA

from the ﬁrst half of the 20th century. Two works are presented by Pepe Noja (1938), from Andalusia. The Basque scene is quite comprehensive: It ranges from the artisan uprightness of Adolfo Areizaga (1850-1918) to the authors of the ﬁrst half of the 20th century, like in the case of Higinio Basterra (1876-1957), Miguel García de Salazar (1877-1959), Moisés de Huerta (1881-1962), Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) and Quintín de Torre (1877-1966). The remainder of the works are largely representative of art after the Civil War. This is the case of Néstor Basterretxea (1924), Agustín Ibarro- la (1930), Vicente Larrea (1934) and Jose Ramón Car- rera (1935), authors who are very representative in the Basque School movement. Juanjo Novella (1961) and Koldobika Jáuregui (1964) are more contemporary. 1 Jose Ramón CARRERA (1935)

José de Ramón Carrera (1935) is the author of the sculptural ensemble that has stood in front of the Goristiza Sports Centre since 1974. The work creates dialogue between abstraction and ﬁguration. It has industrial aesthetics and performs an allegoric representation of popular sports in the Basque Country. It consists of three elements joined together by a single concrete base. It measures 10 x 7 x 7 metres and has differ- ent means of support. The tallest piece rises vertically over a square-based concrete block: It is an iron axe that shows its cutting effects on the furrowed texture of its upper part. The concrete is cylindrical and lower in the pelota basket, which is shown fallen, but origi- nally had the possibility of movement. Finally, placed directly on the ground is the gigantic bowling ball with a huge gripping hole. A new popular iconography that witnesses the passage of time in the expressive wear on its surfaces and transformations of its volumes. EZKERRALDEA

Barakaldo

“Tribute to Basque Sport” (1974) 2 Agustín IBARROLA (1930)

A work by Agustín Ibarrola (1930) stands on Bide-Onera Enparantza in Barakaldo. Installed in 2002, it offers an interesting suggestion about the industrial landscape. It is made up of three elements standing seven and a half metres tall, with a distance of two metres between them. The cylinders are made of Corten steel have curvilinear openings and straight cuts that suggest undulating smoke and human presence, respectively. The grouping is totemic, severe and essential. The artist has entitled it “Chimney Characters”, as indicated by a hand-written text which has been transferred to a plate and is intended for better understanding. There is an interesting dialogue between positive and negative shapes. It relates the imaginary individual and the collective. It is a good example of adaptation between the plastic art interests of the artist and mass culture. The human being is the basis for transformations to the place. EZKERRALDEA

Barakaldo

“Chimney Characters” (2002) 3 Vicente LARREA (1934)

“Samothrace” is the title of the piece located in the Plaza de los Fueros in Barakaldo. The fullness of the shapes that emerge from the ground is related with the quivering movement of the dress of the famous Winged Victory from Greece. The matter opens up to space and the wind passes between its undulating curvilinear planes. The Baroque ﬂuttering shows the relationship between concave and convex, inside and outside, one side and the other. The artist eliminates the density of the mass and the matter gets slimmer until it becomes a surface that extends upwards. The piece cost the Town Hall 750,000 pe- setas in 1971. Its author is Vicente Larrea (1934), one of the most important post-war Biscayan artists. It measures 6 x 0.4 x 0.6 metres. EZKERRALDEA

Barakaldo

“Samothrace” (1971) 4 Koldobica JAUREGI (1959)

The “Stone Forest” (2001) laid out by the Gipuzkoan sculptor Koldobika Jauregi (1959) is composed of four large sculptures. He has arranged them on a series of consecutive sites, located in Auzolan Enparantza, Herriko Plaza, San Juan Kalea and Portu Kalea in the centre of Barakaldo. The formation of all of them is similar and responds to the vertical accumulation of enormous blocks of grey stone. They are works that support the idea of block weight. Some items still ex- hibit the holes used for extraction from the quarry and later transportation. The planes are worked and create dialogues between the curved and straight lines of the vertices. In some cases, the clean cuts of the upper part have the connotation of a battlement. The recess- es demonstrate the constructive nature of a solid material linked with the organic world. Perhaps a critical look in view of unstoppable urban development and continuing attacks on nature. EZKERRALDEA

Barakaldo

“Stone Forest” (2001) 4 Koldobica JAUREGI (1959) EZKERRALDEA

Barakaldo

“Stone Forest” (2001) 5 Moisés HUERTA (1881-1962)

Nicolás Esparza (1873-1928) was artist from Tudela who spent 17 years as a professor of the Drawing Chair at the Arts and Crafts School in Sestao. After his death, a solemn monument by Moisés de Huerta (1881-1962) was inaugurated in 1929. The bust is accompanied by an architectural-sculptural framework. It is a geometri- cal assembly that not only acts as a support point, but also rises behind and focuses attention on the subject of the tribute by outlining the head against the green background of the park. The body offers a dynamic of abstract concave planes that contrast with the tense, vigorous gaze of the ﬁgurative face. On the lower part of the base is the inscription: “TO THE LATE TEACHER AND ILLUSTRIOUS ARTIST Mr. NICOLÁS ESPARZA. THE GRATEFUL TOWN DEDICATES THIS HEARTFELT REMEMBRANCE TO HIM. YEAR MCMXXIX”. On the sides of the ﬁgure are more text directly etched in the grey limestone: “HE DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO THE CUL- TURAL AND ARTISTIC” “TEACH- ING OF THE NATIVES AND RESI- DENTS OF THIS TOWN”. “WITH HIS EDUCATIONAL LABOURS HE WAS A CREDIT TO HIS HOMETOWN OF TUDELA IN NAVARRE”. EZKERRALDEA

Sestao

Monument to Nicolás Esparza (1929) 6 Juanjo NOVELLA (1961)

The monument to the schoolmaster Saturnino de la Peña pays homage to someone who devoted all his ef- forts to training the young people of Sestao. His face in bronze can be seen on the main side, hanging from the structures that frame it. The rest of the sculpture is Corten steel and is metal fabrication. Standing on one side of the park, beside the church of Santa María, the piece is inclined and provides a great variety of observation points, from above or below and from a long distance or close up to the subject. To obtain this, great care has been taken with the structure and also with the intimate, expressive detail of the portrayal, which is in relief. The work is by Juanjo Novella (1961), who created it in 1992. It provides an interrelationship between a book which is opening and an open door that makes it possible to enter another world. The artist alludes to symbolic and real behaviour that favours the intake of knowledge and education for physical access to new ways of life. EZKERRALDEA

Sestao

Monument to Saturnino de la Peña (1992) 7 Agustín IBARROLA (1930)

The sculpture is the work of Agustín Ibarrola (1930) and represents industrial development. The artist was commissioned to make it in 1989 by the Regional Government of Bizkaia. The work is entitled “The Iron House” and is located at Ugaldebieta, a road junction at the entrance to Portugalete, in the centre of a busy trafﬁc roundabout. Its proportions are massive, as it stands 12.2 metres high and weighs 235 tonnes. It shows an enormous concrete cube, held up by tubes, which are apparently fragile. A real endurance test that gives the dual impression of mass and lightness, ac- centuated by the movement of the cylinders that turn on each side to offer a dynamic kinetic perception. EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

“The Iron House” (1989) 8 Josep Llimona BRUGUERA (1864-1934)

Manuel Calvo (1816-1904) was a native of Portugalete who made his fortune in Cuba and who, while alive, had the church tower repaired and, on his death, do- nated a building in the very centre of Havana and his house in Portugalete, the first on the new promenade, to create a hotel whose profits were to be used for the poor. In 1911 a crucified Christ was placed on the pantheon in the cemetery. Located in the centre street, it can be seen frontally from the entrance. Its author is Josep Llimona Bruguera (1864-1934), an important modernist artist who worked for the San Nicolás de Bari church in Bilbao in 1897. The figures of Christ, Our Lady and Mary Magdalene are cast in bronze and rise on an irregular base of natural uncut stone, which emphasises and exalts the ensemble. The Catalan sculptor eliminates symmetry and presents a dynamic composition. A diagonal rises from the right side and ascends dramatically to the highest point of the cross. Above, the inclined head of the Saviour returns us towards the world of the living and makes his death meaningful. The simplification of the modelling is in harmony not only with the psychological wear of pain and also with the sorrow dem- onstrated in the figures below. EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Pantheon of Manuel Calvo (1911) 9 Quintín de TORRE (1877-1966)

The cemetery at Portugalete contains important sculptural works. One of the most outstanding was made by Quintín de Torre (1877-1966) as the pantheon for the family of Braulio Chávarri y de la Quintana. The work extends in a wide surface and forms a scene full of intensity. The artist illustrates a stony hillock crowned by a wide cross. Beside it stands a guardian angel who presides over the ensemble. He is seated, with wings folded, waiting to lead the deceased towards heaven. Lying among the large rocks are some tortured bodies, which become mistaken with the matter. A set of twisted, muscular bodies that bear witness to human suffering in hell and purgatory. By way of hope, a di- vine countenance is illustrated that blends into the surface. It is a work from the artist ﬁrst period, in which the Bilbao sculptor is more expressionist than ever. EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Pantheon of the Braulio Chavarri family 9 Quintín de TORRE (1877-1966) EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Pantheon of the Braulio Chavarri family 10 Miquel BLAY FABREGAS (1866-1936)

The sculptor Miquel Blay Fàbregas (Olot, Garrotxa, 1866 - Madrid, 1936) is the creator of the homage to Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1854-1900), one of the key figures in the industrialisation and economic development process in Bizkaia. The Monument Commit- tee commissioned it in 1900 and it was financed by popular subscription. Situated in the Plaza del Solar, opposite the Town Hall in Portugalete and close to the Puente Colgante de Bizkaia transporter bridge, it was inaugurated on 23 December 1903. It is an ec- lectic work with great presence. Presiding over the ensemble is a disproportionate bronze bust of Don Victor which is invested with floral tributes. An allegoric female statue, also modernist in nature, has been carved in the enormous block of Carrara marble. Located on the grey limestone base are a shot-blaster and a forger worker, figures that Txomin Garro and Sil- vano Rodríguez posed for, exemplifying the extraction and transformation of mineral ore. The artist won the First Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Par- is in 1905 with these models. The foundry of Masriera y Campins cast the bronze. It has one inscription on the front: “To Víctor Chávarri / 1854-1900” and another on the rear: “To the founder of la Vizcaya, Sociedad Metalúrgica / Hulleras de Turón / Tranvía eléctrico de Bilbao / Ferrocarril de Santander a Bilbao / Ferrocarril Vasco-Asturiano / Talleres de Miravalles, etc, etc...” EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Monument to Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1903) 10 Miquel BLAY FABREGAS (1866-1936) EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Monument to Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1903) 10 Miquel BLAY FABREGAS (1866-1936) EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

Monument to Víctor Chávarri Salazar (1903) 11 Adolfo AREIZAGA ORUETA (1850-1918)

Adolfo Areizaga Orueta (1850- 1918) was a sculptor and marble mason. For the gardens of the Augustinian nuns’ con- vent in Portugalete he created a unique series of local allegories. The motifs of the four ﬁgures are romantic and mindful of what is close and characteristic; nevertheless, the carvings tend towards the coldness and immobil- ity of neoclassicism. Made of marble, two of the ﬁgures are males and the others females. The artist mimetically illustrates the clothing of differ- ent areas of Bizkaia. He also alludes to the seasons of the EZKERRALDEA

Portugalete

year and to the cycle of life, and interlaces ethnographic, artistic and experiential interests. The workmanship is somewhat poor, but they have the interest of having been ma- terialised in 1878. The young girl in “Neska del Txorierri” represents spring. The youth in “Baserritarra de Orozko” stands for summer. The “Etxe- koandre” personiﬁes autumn and the elderly “Jauntxo de Arratia” embodies winter. On a divulgative note, the sculptures have cartouches and attributes that identify them. They are oriented towards the four cardinal points.

“The Four Seasons” (1878): “Neska del Txorierri”, Baserritarra de Orozko”, Etxekoandre”, Jauntxo de Arratia” 12 Juanjo NOVELLA (1961)

On the new marine promenade in Santurtzi, Juanjo No- vella (1961) has created a tribute to seafaring men. “Po- laris” is the title of a steel sculpture that was created in the summer of 2000 and weighs 40 tonnes. The name alludes to the star that guides mariners. The piece is uncluttered and its shapes are simple. It is possible to pass through it, allowing the spectator to become immersed in it. It consists of a sign that brings sea swell to mind and a solid plane that alludes to the hull of a vessel. There is a rhythm between both planes, like that of seaweed on the sea bed. With the material removed, the artist created another work which lies on the bottom of the Bay of Biscay. The idea is for salt water to have its effect on the matter and conclude the work. As he says: “If I have sculpted the shape, the sea would sculpt the SKIN, which is the memory of every being”. It has the idea of loading the project with po- etic content, of acting with reality and of uniting iron with sea, as telluric signs of the Left Bank. A ritual which must ﬁn- ish with the recovery of the piece and its placement on the other end of the docks, close to El Abra. EZKERRALDEA

Santurtzi

“Polaris” (2000) 13 Nestor BASTERRETXEA (1924)

Néstor Basterretxea (1924) is one of the most important post-war representatives of Basque sculpture. The work is called “Meridian” and is made of steel. It is based on the series of discoidal funerary steles that refer to the human neck and head. It assumes an anatomical link and connects a vertical part that acts as a support with a large circumferential arch, whose frame contains a temporary, changing meridian. It is situated between the arcane ﬁgurative reference and contemporary abstraction, between the anthropologi- cal past and the present of the most avant-garde plastic art research. The work form part of the open air Museum of Sculp- tures, initiated in 2003. It has an itinerary composed of works by Amador Rodríguez (“Recollection”), Amadeo Gabino (“Homage to Galileo”), Enrique Bro- glia (“Rhythm of the Wind”), Pepe Noja (“Friendship”), Francisco Sobrino (“Unstable Transformation”), Manuel Hernández-Mompó (“Vase No 3 You and I”), José Luis Sánchez (“Capital”), Carlos García Muela (“Atlas”), Lorenzo Frechilla (“Cylinders”), Teresa Eguíbar (“Ex- pansion”) and Juanjo Novella (“Polaris”). EZKERRALDEA

Santurtzi

“Meridian” (2003) 14 Miguel G. DE SALAZAR (1877-1959)

Miguel García de Salazar (1877-1959) is the author of the monument to the banker Cristóbal de Murri- eta Mello, which was completed with the assistance of Manuel Moreno San Román (1891-1969). It is located close to the Town Hall and was inaugurated on 17 June 1923. The pedestal is made of stone and the figures are bronze. The artist from Algorta designed a romantic scene. Instead of conceiving an architectural pedestal, he represented an organic tree with figures alluding to the life of the philanthropist arranged in its cavities. The seaman alludes to the foundation of the Naval School, while the nun and girl refer to the teaching work carried out by the College of the Hijas de la Cruz. The ensemble was restored in July 1990 by the sculptor Luis Iñiguez (1935-1995). He had to remake the upper figures due to the degraded condition of the originals. He conserved the posture and the attitude of the seated representation of the person paid homage, but the guardian angel was modified. On the rear side there is an effigy in relief of Lu- ciano Murrieta, founder of a winery in La Rioja, who lived and died in Santurtzi although he was born in Sopuerta. EZKERRALDEA

Santurtzi

Monument to Cristóbal de Murrieta Mello (1923) 15 Joaquín LUCARINI (1905-1969)

The figure of the sardine seller was inaugurated on 8 September 1964. It measures 2.5 x 0.7 x 0.7 metres. It was executed by Joaquín Lucarini (1905-1969) and placed in a garden where it can watch the port activity at its feet. It is made of bronze and was cast by Codina in Madrid, and stands on a sober block of stone. On the rear is the first line of a famous popular song: “I GO ALL ALONG THE RIVER BANK FROM SANTURCE TO BILBAO” The figure is shown in an everyday posture. The female figure carries a basket on her head and holds it with her right arm, while her left arm rests on her waist. Her skirt is tucked up at one side and has a mesh-like texture. Her body is upright and the modelling is very energetic. The face demonstrates her call- ing out and is shown balanced and dynamic. It has the maritime attribute of a large anchor which has been tied to a rope end and is beside one of her bare feet. A well-known sardine seller from Santurtzi, “La Bella Charo” (Beautiful Charo), was the model who posed for the work. It is characteristic of the final period of the sculptor from Álava, although resident in Bilbao from his childhood. EZKERRALDEA

Santurtzi

“The Sardine Seller” (1964) 16 Higinio BASTERRA (1876-1957)

The pantheon of the Oráa-Sanz family was carried out in 1933 by Higinio Basterra Berástegui (1876-1957). The Bilbao artist illustrates the crucifixion of Christ with the Virgin at his side, intertwining postures and establishing a relationship by an exchange of gazes. The figures rise over the rest of the cemetery and reveal the pain of the barbarous execution and the mother’s great grief. The female figure is stylised and upright. The crucified man wriggles and also has very elongated proportions. The sculpting is splendid and the strained anatomy stands out. The flesh on the upper part of the chest is torn. A dramatic relationship exists between this area and the tilted head. A kind of tense dialogue between convex and concave volumes, positive and negative shapes, ying and yang. The fol- lowing text is inscribed on the base: “Ne me perdas illa die Monstrate esse Matrem”. EZKERRALDEA

Santurtzi

Pantheon of the Oráa-Sanz family (1933) 17 Pepe NOJA (1938)

The dramatic consequence of the gas explosion at the Marcelino Ugalde state school on 23 October 1980 was the death of 48 children and 3 adults. Pepe Noja (1938) is the sculptor who answered the call of the Ortuella town council to commemorate the terrible sorrowful event. The artist from Huelva is the promoter of out- door sculpture museums in Aracena (1985), Caceres (1997) and Santurtzi (2003), as well as of the 5th Cente- nary Contemporary Art Museum in Huelva (1991). “To Life” was inaugurated in 1981 in the gardens situated beside the health centre in the former mining locality, at a ceremony that was attended by the maximum au- thorities of the Basque Government and the Regional Government of Bizkaia. The sculpture is made of white marble and has the appearance of a huge torch holder that rises vertically. EZKERRALDEA

Ortuella

“To Life” (1981) 2- ezkerraldea