Jorge Oteiza (October 21, 1908 – April 9, 2003), was a

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sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, painter,

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er and

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from the

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, renowned for being one of the main theorists on Basque modern art. Oteiza was born in Orio (

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). He moved to South America in 1935, just before the

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, and stayed there for 14 years. In 1963 he published ''Quosque tandem!'', an

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about the aesthetics inherent to Basque soul, based on Basque

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and Basque people's

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roots. Three years on, he contributed to found the artistic group Gaur. He died in San Sebastián,

, in 2003. Following his will, a month after his death a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

dedicated to his career was opened in Alzuza, Navarre, in the place where he had lived since 1975. The Oteiza Museum is a monographic exhibition space housing the personal collection of Jorge Oteiza, which includes 1,690 sculptures, 2,000 experimental pieces from the artist's Chalk Laboratory, and an extensive collection of drawings and collages.

Main prizes and awards

Jorge Oteiza was granted several prizes and awards throughout his life:"Biography,"
from the Oteiza Museum's website. Retrieved 2010-11-08. Donostia Oteitza Eraikuntza hutsa

* 1953 — Only Spanish sculptor selected for the international competition for the Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner. The project is exhibited in the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

(London). * 1954 — Spanish National Award of Architecture, for a project to do a chapel on the Road to Santiago. It was a joint project, together with architects F. J. Sáenz de Oiza and Luis Romaní, and it was not carried out. * 1957 — Grand Prix for his sculpture at the IV São Paulo Art Biennial (Brazil). * 1970 — First Prize in the competition for the urban planning of the Plaza de Colón in

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. It was a joint project, together with Angel Orbe, Mario Gaviria and Luis Arana, and it was not carried out. * 1985 — Gold Medal for Fine Arts, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. * 1986 — Selected for the exhibition ''Qu’est-ce que la sculpture moderne? 1900-1970'', held in the Museum of Modern Art at the

Georges Pompidou Center The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

in Paris. * 1988 — Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts. * 1991 — Gold Medal of Navarre, awarded by the Government of Navarre. * 1995 — Manuel Lekuona prize by

Eusko Ikaskuntza The ''Basque Studies Society'' ( eu , Eusko Ikaskuntza; '' 'EI-SEV' '') is a scientific-cultural institution created in 1918 by the Provincial Councils of Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Navarra a stable and lasting resource to develop the Bas ...

(Society of Basque Studies). * 1996 — Pevsner Prize (Paris), in recognition of his life's work. * 1996 — Honorary member of the Vascon-Navarrese Architect's Association. * 1998 —

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...

by the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

. * 1998 — Madrid Fine Arts Circle Medal. * 1998 — Gipuzkoa Gold medal.

References

External links

Oteiza Museum
in Alzuza, Navarre

* Oteiza's Selected Writings at th
Basque Database

Two Basque Sculptors. Peter Selz on Oteiza and Chillida
* Arana Cobos, Juan (2008).

'. PhD dissertation, Center for Basque Studies. University of Nevada, Reno. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oteiza, Jorge 1908 births 2003 deaths People from Urola Kosta Basque sculptors Spanish male writers 20th-century sculptors