Eduardo Chillida was a renounced 20th Century Catalan sculptor born in1924, in the Basque region of Spain. In 1943 he briefly undertook studies in architecture then in 1947 he enrolled in the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. It was here that he began to sculpt, working with gypsum and clay. 

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'The hand has the richest articulation of space.' 

Chillida’s early sculptures were received well by critics. Showing artistic promise, he took a trip to Paris. There, in 1949, he began working in iron. After returning from Paris, he settled in the Spanish town of Hernani, where he concentrated on abstract sculpture. In these works, the space created by the sculptures was the focus; adopting fluid and geometric shapes. During the following years, he further explored the possibilities and limitations created by space.

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"In my work, I have never had any use for anything that I have known in advance."

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In the last few years of his career, Chillida returned to his hometown, San Sebastián. He died there in August 2002, having made his name as one of the most important sculptors of the 20th Century, producing monumental objects in a concrete style and exploring many materials. 

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"Once I dreamt of a utopia, of a place where my sculptures could rest, so that people could walk among them as though in a forest."

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Chillida's dream has all but come a reality in the development of the Chillida-Leku Museum, based at the sculptor's home and surrounding gardens in Hernani. It is a unique museum, and itself a great work of art. Nature and art naturally come together in the space. The sculptures are integrated into the landscape as though they had always been part of it. In the garden, beech, oak and magnolia trees live alongside the monumental steel and granite sculptures, situated in a perfect dialogue with their surroundings.

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Chillida (above) working on the lithograph stone for the collection we have for sale, and (below), the stones prepared for printing.