The Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country, Artium Museoa, presents the exhibition entitled Chillida. Applied uses (A1 Gallery, up to 2 February 2025). This exhibition presents Eduardo Chillida's (1924-2002) work as an illustrator and creator of two-dimensional icons in a variety of formats, whether as part of his own exhibitions or from commissions from public and private associations and institutions. Chillida. Applied uses, curated by Peio Aguirre, explores the direct or indirect connections between the sculptor's flat forms and graphic design, posters, textile art and precious metalwork, but also brand identity and marketing, and creates a space to understand the social and political, but also corporate, legacy of this artist. The exhibition is being held to mark the centenary of the artist’s birth, in conjunction with Chillida Leku and with the support of Mondragon. To coincide with the exhibition, Artium Museoa has released a publication with original text by the curator.
Chillida. Applied uses brings together over 70 objects in an exhibition that explores what Aguirre calls «the expanded, repeating universe of Chillida's forms and shapes. A Chillida scattered across the public sphere»: graphic works, drawings and sketches, collages, textiles, posters, publications and other items such as stickers and marketing materials.
The pieces include catalogues, brochures and posters for exhibitions by Eduardo Chillida, logos created for organisations such as the University of the Basque Country or the Reina Sofía Museum, posters for events such as the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and 1982 World Cup in Spain, or for peace rallies in the Basque Country or protests against nuclear power on the Basque coast. The exhibition also features the documentary film by José Luis Bakedano, entitled Chillida: Retrato en casa, which was produced in 1983, and the sculpture Mano, which is part of the Artium Museoa Collection.
The pieces being exhibited at Chillida. Applied uses were obtained from institutions such as Sucesión de Eduardo Chillida (his estate) and Hauser & Wirth, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the Reina Sofía National Museum and Art Centre, the Basque Film Library and the University of the Basque Country, among others, as well as from private collections.