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three statues of a man with a beard and a man with a beardtwo sculptures of a man ' s head and a woman ' s head on a tabletwo sculptures of a man with a beard and a man with a moustachea dog that is standing in the sand with a frisbee in its moutha close up view of a dog ' s face with his tongue sticking out
FauveParis

91 - Jorge de Oteiza (1908–2003) Bust of Sabino de Arana [2 sculp…
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Estimate €800 - €1,200
Sale commission
Description
Jorge de Oteiza (1908–2003) Bust of Sabino de Arana [2 sculptures] 1979 > In bronze, monogrammed on the left side, numbered ‘19H5’ on the back, resting on a wooden plinth > In terracotta, monogrammed on the left-hand side, numbered “E352” on the back, resting on a wooden plinth H. 26 cm W. 16 cm Condition report: The bronze’s plinth is not secured Jorge Oteiza was a Spanish sculptor, poet and art theorist, regarded as one of the most influential Basque artists of the 20th century and a pioneer of abstract sculpture. Born in Orio, he soon abandoned his medical studies to devote himself to art as a self-taught artist. From 1935 to 1948, he went into exile in Latin America, a formative journey during which he studied pre-Columbian statuary and taught ceramics. On his return to Spain, his work took a turn towards radical constructivism. He obsessively explored geometry, volume and, above all, emptiness, seeking to ‘empty’ the material to liberate space. This conceptual quest reached its peak in the 1950s. In 1957, he gained international renown when he won the Grand Prix for Sculpture at the São Paulo Biennial. However, in 1959, at the height of his fame and after completing the sculptures for the Basilica of Arantzazu, he announced that he was abandoning fundamental plastic sculpture, believing that he had reached the limits of his theoretical exploration of space. However, his artistic retirement was not absolute; he returned to creating from time to time from the 1970s onwards. The year 1979 perfectly illustrates this return, marked by the creation of busts (such as that of Sabino Arana), abstract bronzes reintroducing the human figure, and the completion in bronze of his earlier experiments stemming from his famous ‘Chalk Laboratory’.
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About the sale Art & Curiosities
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Auction time 10/31/2026 at 10:30 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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