Pello Irazu The land that sleeps, 1986. Steel and oil 66 x 120 x 39 cm. Soledad Lorenzo Collection. Deposited at MNCARS © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2017

Pello Irazu (Guipúzcoa, 1963) is a Spanish artist of Basque origin. Known for his sculptural gifts, he also draws drawings and murals. Influenced by the Basque sculptor Jorge Oteiza, the space and its influence on artistic practices is a reference in the renovation of the Basque sculpture of the 80s. One of the main characteristics of his work is experimentation with materials and search The emotion of the spectator rather than the image he projects.

Pello Irazu The good teacher (on the table being a piece of wood)

His sculptures alternate three-dimensional minimal proposals with object-oriented hybrids and large installations. Panorama is not only a sculpture exhibition, it also shows photography, drawing and mural painting. Irazu delves into the problematic between the multiple relationships between our body with images, objects and space. The exhibition has been articulated by the sculptor himself and part of a series of photographs taken by him. The germ of this exhibition is his first work in steel, which covers its strength with a layer of paint added.

The artist Pello Irazu (Andoain, 1963), before one of his works in the Guggenheim.

The wall, and its function before the spectator are two issues to consider. The mural painting and the location of the different objects give a new meaning to this literary construction. Already in the 90's, Irazu, moves to New York and begins to work with other materials such as plywood or plastic. These textures, perfectly represent the wink to the domestic spaces. Reconstructing everyday objects discontinuously awakens in the viewer a double feeling of affection and estrangement that changes the meaning of these objects.

Pello Irazu Feliz, 1988. Construction in steel and oil 22 x 22 x 14 cm. Private collection, Barcelona © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2017

Already in the year 2000 returns to Bilbao and initiates a new phase of production where it resorts to forms suggestive for the spectator that insinuate a feeling of familiarity, ambiguity and strangeness. An artist, turned in the innovation that knew to give a new air to the concept of the Basque sculpture. Now, he is recognized in his land, in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, until June 25.