This presentation in a viewing room format will bring together Eduardo Chillida's fascination for small scale works. While his work as a sculptor advanced towards monumentality, particularly in projects created for public spaces, the last two decades of his career are marked by a special emphasis on the poetics of the small, which one can discover across sculptures, drawings, and prints created in the 1980s and 1990s. Chillida’s philosophy centered around the interplay between space and form, which he explored not only through large-scale public sculptures but also in more intimate pieces. These smaller works, often created as maquettes for larger projects or as standalone pieces, encapsulate the essence of his artistic inquiry into the boundaries of space and the dynamics of containment. By working on a smaller scale, Chillida was able to engage with the materiality of his mediums in a more tactile, immediate way, allowing for a more personal interaction with his themes of silence, emptiness, and the limits of the perceivable.
In Chillida's graphic works, such as his etchings and collages, the poetics of the small becomes a focal point where the reductivism of elements convey vast, profound philosophical ideas about human existence and our relationship with the universe. These pieces are often characterized by stark contrasts between black and white, the density of the material versus the openness of space, and the play of shadows and light—themes that are prevalent in his larger sculptures but gain a different, more introspective quality when executed on a smaller scale. This intimate scale allows viewers to enter a more personal dialogue with the work, where the visual language of simplicity speaks in striking contrasts. Through these smaller creations, Chillida communicates the power of reduction, where less becomes more and every mark or absence of mark is loaded with meaning.
The small scale in Chillida's oeuvre offers unique lenses through which to view his artistic legacy. While his monumental sculptures challenge the viewer to contemplate space at large scales, his smaller works invite a closer, more reflective interaction. These works demonstrate that the essence of Chillida’s exploration of form and space can manifest as powerfully in the small as in the large. This duality enriches his oeuvre, offering multiple entry points for understanding his philosophical inquiries. These series of works demonstrate that the grandeur of art is not always proportional to size but often resides in the subtlety of expression and the intimacy of the viewer's encounter with the work.
