Lot 6 D

Eduardo Chillida , the most significant Spanish sculptor of the 20th century, only came to fine art via architectural studies which he commenced in Madrid in 1943. His underlying academic education is not only visible in his mostly monumental sculptures but also in his so-called “Gravitaciónes”. In this type of collage, Chillida laid two or sometimes three pieces of paper on top of each other, cutting out geometric shapes and blackening some parts with ink. Rather than glueing individual pieces of paper on top of each other, as is typical for collages, he secured them with a fine thread. Finally, he attached the multilayered sheets to long strings so that they could move freely.

Chillida strove to create various spatial planes as is also the case with this “Gravitación”. The smaller, cut-out piece of paper is positioned in front of the rear sheet and a narrow space is created between the two, even if this can only be surmised by the shadow. The nature of the rectangular incisions may give the impression of an architectural elevation. As is usual for his “Gravitaciónes”, he also chose heavy laid paper for this work, which is textured and sometimes wavy, thus emphasizing its individual character and weight. For Chillida, these collages are elements of gravity which appear either solid or light and floating due to their way they are cut and coloured.