“Only if we are able to inhabit will we be able to build”

Eduardo Chillida

Limits are the main theme in Eduardo Chillida's works. As he himself explains, “The world comes together in one line, and with one line it is divided. Drawing is both beautiful and tremendous”. Beautiful because in the act of delimiting something we are generating something new which did not exist before, and tremendous because delimiting implies separating and dividing.

There is no doubt that the idea of boundaries is fundamental to anyone working with raw material. It is within limits that “possibilities” lie, and where important things occur. Chillida is clear about this aspect, “space will be anonymous as long as there are no limits”. For instance, our skin is a boundary which envelops us and which gives us the possibility of existing apart from our surroundings. Nevertheless, the question at hand is not so much the physical aspect of creating space, but the relation between the object and the space around it. There are many types of limits: fixed limits, flexible limits, defined limits, and diffused limits. The sculptor tends to compare spacial limits and limits in time. Spacial limits are equally as important as the present moment. For Chillida, the present moment in itself does not exist since by the time we are aware of it it is in the past, and when we imagine its evolution it is the future. There is, however, a fundamental present within which our lives develop. It is precisely that present moment without boundaries, that instant, which the sculptor tries to capture in each of his works; large, lifeless blocks in which movement and tensions counteract making the compositions appear alive, stable, and harmonious. For instance, the urban intervention “Peine del Viento XV” (Wind Comb) (1976) in San Sebastián is not merely three objects which have been left outside. That space is where the city ends and the ocean begins. Thanks to their presence new relations spring between the elements. Dialogues start between the sculptures themselves, the sculptures and city, the sculptures and the sea, and finally between the city and the sea. The ensemble of sculptures ends up being the city's door to the ocean, and thus the piece does not end at the physical limits of the scultpures, but further out into the horizon. Something similar occurs on the hill of Santa Catalina de Gijón. There, the piece, entitled “Elogio del Horizonte IV” (Laud to the Horizon IV) (1989), throws us into the ocean and calls us to look at the sky, giving us a sense of liberty.

“Sólo si somos capaces de habitar podremos construir”

Eduardo Chillida

El límite es un tema protagonista en la obra de Eduardo Chillida. Como él mismo explica, “En una línea el mundo se une, con una línea el mundo se divide. Dibujar es hermoso y tremendo”. Hermoso por un lado, ya que al limitar estamos generando algo nuevo que antes no existía; y tremendo a la vez, porque limitar implica separar y dividir.

No cabe duda de que el tema de los límites es fundamental para todo aquel que trabaje con la materia. Es ahí donde radica la “posibilidad” y ocurren las cosas importantes. Chillida plantea con claridad este aspecto diciendo que “el espacio será anónimo mientras no lo limite”. Límite es por ejemplo la piel que nos envuelve y nos da la posibilidad de existir separándonos del entorno. Pero la cuestión principal no es tanto el hecho físico de generar un espacio, sino la relación entre ese objeto y el espacio circundante. Existen muchos tipos de límites: límites rígidos, límites tolerantes, límites definidos y límites difusos. El escultor hace con frecuencia un paralelismo entre los límites espaciales y los límites temporales. Los límites en el espacio son igual de protagonistas que el presente en el tiempo. Un presente que como tal no existe, ya que para cuando tenemos conciencia de él se ha convertido en pasado, y, cuando imaginamos el devenir, es futuro. Sin embargo, un presente fundamental ya que en él se desarrolla toda nuestra vida. Pues bien, es precisamente ese presente sin medida, ese instante, lo que el escultor trata de captar en cada una de sus obras. Grandes bloques inertes tras los cuales se adivinan tendencias, tensiones que se contrarrestan y hacen que la composición no esté “muerta” pese a ser estable y armónica. La intervención del “Peine del Viento XV” (1976) de Donostia, por ejemplo, no consiste únicamente en depositar tres objetos en el paisaje. El lugar escogido es el límite donde acaba la ciudad y empieza el mar. Con su presencia se generan nuevas relaciones entre los elementos. Diálogos entre las piezas en sí, entre las piezas y la ciudad, las piezas y el mar, y finalmente entre la ciudad y el mar. El conjunto escultórico acaba siendo la puerta de la ciudad al mar, y, por tanto, la obra no acaba en los límites físicos de las piezas, sino que se extiende mucho más allá. Algo parecido ocurre en el cerro de Santa Catalina de Gijón. La obra “Elogio del Horizonte IV” (1989) nos lanza al océano, nos invita a mirar el cielo, y, en definitiva, nos hace más libres.

“Only if we are able to inhabit will we be able to build”

Eduardo Chillida

Limits are the main theme in Eduardo Chillida's works. As he himself explains, “The world comes together in one line, and with one line it is divided. Drawing is both beautiful and tremendous”. Beautiful because in the act of delimiting something we are generating something new which did not exist before, and tremendous because delimiting implies separating and dividing.

There is no doubt that the idea of boundaries is fundamental to anyone working with raw material. It is within limits that “possibilities” lie, and where important things occur. Chillida is clear about this aspect, “space will be anonymous as long as there are no limits”. For instance, our skin is a boundary which envelops us and which gives us the possibility of existing apart from our surroundings. Nevertheless, the question at hand is not so much the physical aspect of creating space, but the relation between the object and the space around it. There are many types of limits: fixed limits, flexible limits, defined limits, and diffused limits. The sculptor tends to compare spacial limits and limits in time. Spacial limits are equally as important as the present moment. For Chillida, the present moment in itself does not exist since by the time we are aware of it it is in the past, and when we imagine its evolution it is the future. There is, however, a fundamental present within which our lives develop. It is precisely that present moment without boundaries, that instant, which the sculptor tries to capture in each of his works; large, lifeless blocks in which movement and tensions counteract making the compositions appear alive, stable, and harmonious. For instance, the urban intervention “Peine del Viento XV” (Wind Comb) (1976) in San Sebastián is not merely three objects which have been left outside. That space is where the city ends and the ocean begins. Thanks to their presence new relations spring between the elements. Dialogues start between the sculptures themselves, the sculptures and city, the sculptures and the sea, and finally between the city and the sea. The ensemble of sculptures ends up being the city's door to the ocean, and thus the piece does not end at the physical limits of the scultpures, but further out into the horizon. Something similar occurs on the hill of Santa Catalina de Gijón. There, the piece, entitled “Elogio del Horizonte IV” (Laud to the Horizon IV) (1989), throws us into the ocean and calls us to look at the sky, giving us a sense of liberty.