Chillida Leku will reopen next April after eight years
10/01/2019.
[Hernanni] Spain
metalocus, ÁNGEL TORNE
metalocus, ÁNGEL TORNE
The celebration of the 95th anniversary of the birth of Eduardo Chillida, today January 10, comes with good news, announcing that next April 2019 Chillida Leku will reopen its doors, thus beginning a new stage for this important cultural center.
Founded in life by Eduardo Chillida, the museum is the place where the broadest and most representative body of work of this artist can be found. Since its inauguration in 2000, this center dedicated to Eduardo Chillida has not ceased in its activity of dissemination and conservation of the work of the Basque sculptor.
Founded in life by Eduardo Chillida, the museum is the place where the broadest and most representative body of work of this artist can be found. Since its inauguration in 2000, this center dedicated to Eduardo Chillida has not ceased in its activity of dissemination and conservation of the work of the Basque sculptor.
Image of one of the works of the Chillida Leku set ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Mikel Chillida.
Zabalaga farm house, 16th century. ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Mikel Chillida.
‘Lotura XXXII’ (Union XXXII),(corten steel, 1998) on Chillida Leku. ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Iñigo Santiago.
People visiting Chillida Leku in the shadow of ‘Searching for Light I’ (‘Buscando la luz I’) (corten steel, 1997). ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Mikel Chillida.
Interior view. Zabalaga farm house, 16th century. ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Mikel Chillida.
Eduardo Chillida in ‘Searching for Light I’ (‘Buscando la luz I’) (corten steel, 1997) during the early oxidation stages of the piece. ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Stephan Erfurt.
Image of one of the works of the Chillida Leku set ©Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP, 2019. Estate of Eduardo Chillida and Hauser & Wirth. Photo Mikel Chillida.
Since January 2011, the museum could only be visited by appointment, but currently in Chillida Leku, restoration work is being carried out that will allow a continuous flow of visitors to enjoy the center.
It has not been necessary a total renovation, but a respectful update is being made. The farmhouse - central construction of the museum - will retain exactly the same appearance and structure that Chillida conceived, but will have improved lighting and greater insulation in floors and ceilings, as well as with an adequate accessibility for people with reduced mobility. To these improvements is added the start-up of a welcome center, a cafeteria, a store and the adequacy of the parking, which will improve the experience of visitors.
It has not been necessary a total renovation, but a respectful update is being made. The farmhouse - central construction of the museum - will retain exactly the same appearance and structure that Chillida conceived, but will have improved lighting and greater insulation in floors and ceilings, as well as with an adequate accessibility for people with reduced mobility. To these improvements is added the start-up of a welcome center, a cafeteria, a store and the adequacy of the parking, which will improve the experience of visitors.
"We are frankly delighted with this new stage that Chillida Leku is going to experience," said Luis Chillida on behalf of the Succession of Eduardo Chillida. "The fact of putting the museum back into operation is exciting and we are sure that our parents They will be happy for that, we have no doubt about the great expectation awakened by the reopening, and the growing interest that Chillida's work has had will increase in the future."
Chillida Leku is located on the outskirts of Hernani, very close to San Sebastián and is made up of an open-air sculptural site and an exhibition space inside the Zabalaga farmhouse; a traditional Basque construction built in the sixteenth century. The house and its adjacent lands were acquired in the eighties by Eduardo Chillida and his wife Pilar Belzunce, who personally restored and conditioned them for more than 15 years. This rehabilitation project was carried out in close collaboration with the Basque architect Joaquín Montero, who helped them develop this highly personal vision of the exhibition space. The sculptor looked for a home for his works - a "place" (in Basque, leku) - where future generations could meet and experience their art in a unique location.
The choice by Chillida of this location for the museum reflects the connection he maintained throughout his life with the local community, landscape and architecture of the Basque Country. The historical building is surrounded by 11 hectares (110,000 square meters) of land along which can be admired about 40 original sculptures of the artist among which stand out Looking for the light I (1997) or Lotura XXXII (1998) made with steel Corten, a material with strong resonances of the industrial past of the region.
The updating works are being developed under the supervision of the Argentine architect Luis Laplace, working in close collaboration with the architect Jon Essery Chillida, grandson of the sculptor.
The project also has the contribution of Dutch nature architect Piet Oudolf, pioneer of the movement "New Perennial" that will introduce subtle landscaping elements. His designs of gardens and landscapes - among which the Lurie Garden of Chicago or the High Line of New York stand out - are based on ecological premises.
To lead this new stage, Chillida Leku will have the direction of Mireia Massagué, who assumes this responsibility after being the director of the Gaudí Exhibition Center and having previously worked at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. His work at the head of the Gipuzkoa museum will be carried out in close collaboration with the Chillida family, which holds the ownership and management of Chillida Leku.
The renovation works have had the support of the different public administrations of the Basque Country.
