Poetics of the Small

This presentation in an online viewing room format explores Eduardo Chillida's fascination for small scale works. While his production 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 is evident in the small-scale etchings created between 1982 and 1989, the subject of this viewing room.

Chillida's philosophy revolved around the interplay between space and form, a theme he explored not only through grand public sculptures but also in more intimate pieces. These smaller works encapsulate the essence of his artistic inquiry into the boundaries of space and the dynamics of containment. By working on a smaller scale, Chillida could engage with the materiality of his mediums in a tactile, immediate way, fostering a deeply personal interaction with themes such as silence, emptiness, and the limits of perception.

In Chillida's graphic works, 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 works on paper and sculpture 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.