Exhibitions, catalogues, and audiovisual, educational, and academic initiatives shape the centenary program honoring the Basque artist. This is a chance to broaden awareness of Chillida’s legacy, a presence visible in many Spanish cities and abroad.
“Chillida belongs to everyone. We want people to feel that Chillida belongs to us and to be enriched by his work and meaning,” stated Mikel, his grandson, at the program’s presentation in the Miramar Palace, San Sebastián. Officials and cultural figures attended the event.
By backing this centennial commemoration, the Eduardo Chillida-Pilar Belzunce Foundation emphasizes the public value of the artist’s work, with 45 sculptures turning urban spaces into gathering places in cities such as Berlin, Helsinki, and Washington, and in Spanish cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valladolid, and Palma de Mallorca.
Exhibitions are also planned in Santiago de Chile, San Diego, and Künzelsau, along with Avilés, Valladolid, Menorca, Bilbao, and Vitoria. Chillida and Gipuzkoa, born January 10, 1924, and passing August 19, 2002, mark Leku as the epicenter of the anniversary observances.
Situated in Hernani, near San Sebastián, the artist’s workshop space was transformed into a display for his sculptures, after the museum opened to other artists in previous years. Beginning December 2, an immersion into the Maeght Universe will feature writers alongside the historic French dealer.
The first group exhibition at Chillida Leku gathers works by Braque, Alexander Calder, Giacometti, Pablo Palazuelo, Julio González, Jean Arp, Barbara Hepworth, Tapies, Miró, and Marc Chagall, on view through May 2024.
This is the opening of fourteen initiatives organized for the centennial, coordinated by the Eduardo Chillida-Pilar Belzunce Foundation and supported by numerous public institutions, including the Ministries of Culture and Finance and regional authorities.
An exhibition runs from December 17 to October 27 at Würth Museum in Künzelsau, pairing Chillida’s works with pieces by Anthony Caro from England.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Extension Center will host Chillida’s works from March 2024, more than twenty years after the sculptor’s last visit to the Andean nation; the San Diego Museum of Art will present a major exhibition of the Basque artist from March to September 2025.
The centennial tour continues from December to March at the Avilés House of Culture, bringing together seven sculptures and drawings to showcase the artist’s entire production; from May to November at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in Menorca; and from May to September 2025 at the National Sculpture Museum in Valladolid.
Additional venues include the Artium museum in Vitoria, the Bellas Artes in Bilbao, and the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria, with further exhibitions in Gipuzkoa. In San Sebastián, the San Telmo Museum, Sala Artegunea, and Tabakalera will present Chillida’s work through distinct interpretive approaches, as explained by Chillida Leku’s Development Director, Mikel Chillida.
The Hernani museum will also host an exhibition of Chillida’s sculptures from the Telefónica Collection, running May 15 to October 13, 2024.
The family intends to celebrate the centennial by highlighting Chillida’s values, sensitivity, and contributions to contemporary art history, a thread that will appear across publications and a documentary directed by Arantxa Aguirre.
Efforts also aim to connect younger audiences via the comic book Elmap de Chillida and the educational unit 100 Years of Eduardo Chillida.
Chillida’s landmark piece, El Peine del Viento, will be celebrated through a multi-disciplinary program featuring a specially produced montage of dance and music by the Euskadiko Orchestra and the Bilbao Choral Society, alongside performances by the Kukai company that will mark the traditional midsummer festival in 2024.
On his 100th birthday, the memory of the sculptor will be honored at Victoria Eugenia, with a blend of disciplines envisioned for a special day that brings together art, performance, and community reflection.