Pamplona (EFE).- More than 90 works, including drawings, paintings and sculptures, make up the anthological exhibition of the renowned Pamplona artist Juan José Aquerreta, opened at the Museum of Navarra and with which it is intended to publicize the main motivations, influences and themes of the work of the person who was awarded the National Plastic Arts Award in 2001.
It is about the exhibition `Aquerreta… and similarity. Heian Shodan´ curated by the historian and art critic Pedro Luis Lozano Uriz, which can be visited from March 24 to September 3 at the Museum of Navarra, where more than 90 works by Aquerreta have been installed; 5 works by Diego de Pablos and 7 by José Antonio Jiménez.
During the inauguration, the Minister of Culture, Rebeca Esnaola, pointed out the “special illusion” felt by “paying this well-deserved tribute in the form of a great exhibition; wide, diverse, full of nuances, in which we contemplate the authenticity of the artist” and added that “his entire career is projected in various spaces, which will allow the visiting public to contemplate Aquerreta’s personal and creative journey, perhaps only comprehensible from compassion, or from love”.
In the rooms, the fundamental genres of his work are exhibited: still life, landscape and portrait, with works made between the sixties and the present, including drawings that the artist has made in recent months.
The author himself has actively participated in the selection of the works that make up the exhibition, who from the outset proposed that it be a collaborative exhibition, making visible the work carried out by the artists Diego de Pablos and José Antonio Jiménez, with whom he shares studios and affairs. pictorial, which is innovative, but not surprising in an artist who places the person at the center of his production.
According to the vision of the curator of this exhibition, the art of Juan José Aquerreta is born from pain, since “suffering has been a constant in this painter and from there arises a relationship with Schopenhauer’s philosophy: “All life is pain”. Now, faced with the atheistic agony of the German philosopher, Aquerreta finds in faith in Christ a process of redemption”, explains Lozano.
This gives meaning not only to his pictorial work but to his entire existence and allows him to set out on the path of serenity and peace. That is where the second part of the show’s title comes from, “Heian shodan / Peace and tranquility”, the first kata of Shotokan karate, a sport practiced by Aquerreta for years, in which he has reached a black belt.
For the exhibition, a catalog has been prepared that includes, in addition to the curator’s text, the texts of Juan Manuel Bonet (historian and art critic, as well as one of the most authoritative personalities of Spanish contemporary art, former director of MNCARS-Madrid and IVAM- Valencia) and Francisco Calvo Serraller (historian and art critic, who was one of the most authoritative personalities of Spanish contemporary art, former director of the Museo Nacional del Prado), recovered for this occasion.
In its note, the Museum of Navarra values the “close and continuous” relationship maintained with Aquerreta, “a generous artist”, he qualifies after recalling the exhibitions of 1991, 1986 and 2013. Now this Museum fulfills his wish to dedicate an ambitious exhibition to him telling are your participation.
Other events have been organized around the exhibition, such as the visit in the company of Commissioner Lozano himself on Sunday, March 26. In addition, visits will be made on Sundays in April, May and June, which will be announced on the Museo de Navarra website. Lozano will also offer a conference on May 3.
On the other hand, the children’s workshops at Easter will focus on the Aquerreta sample.