The Biscay of Néstor Basterretxea.

Bizkaia through Néstor Basterretxea’s public work

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth in Bermeo (Bizkaia) of the multifaceted artist Nestor Basterretxea. It will also be a decade since his death. You can walk through Bizkaia from Otxandio to Bilbao via Durango, Gernika or Trápaga following his public work’s path.

A painter, sculptor, filmmaker, creator of furniture
and urban spaces, Basterretxea, together with Oteiza, Chillida and Ibarrola, belongs to the quartet of great Basque plastic artists of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Their impact is comparable to that of a tsunami in international contemporary art.

In Euskadi and Bizkaia, the transcendence of these creators has had an impact on literature, music, politics and popular culture.

Néstor Basterretxea’s work can be found in all the museums of the Basque Country and in many other centres in several countries. During 2024, monographic and retrospective exhibitions have also been programmed in a number of art galleries.

However, it is not necessary to stick to the timetables and the specific space of a museum to appreciate Basterretxea’s work. In Bizkaia, you can find a good number of his works, all in the open air.

This Nestor Basterretxea route goes from Otxandio, in the foothills of Gorbeia, to Bilbao, passing through Bermeo, Bakio or Trápaga.

Get to know Basterretxea’s work along the territory. And also the other way round. Please, take into account that this route does not cover all of Basterretxea’s sculptures in public spaces in the territory.

1. ‘HERIOTZA ZERUTIK ETORRI JAKUN’

Otxandio. A work in memory of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of the town in 1936..

2. ‘TESTIGO DEL CENTENARIO’

Zeanuri. Commemoration of the centenary of the cross erected on the summit of Gorbeia.

3. ‘GALDAKAOKO BIZKAIARI’

Ardanza Park, Galdakao. The piece shares space with works by other artists such as Jorge Oteiza and Juan Ramón Anda.

4. ‘HIRUGARREN HILL HARRIA’

Next to the San Pedro de Tavira Church, Durango. It is a large 20-tonne funerary stele carved in stone.

5. ‘AGONÍA DEL FUEGO’

Inaugurated during the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika, it is located on the spot where the first bomb dropped by the Condor Legion struck.

6. ’LA OLA. OLATUA’ (AND MORE)

Steel sculpture in the port of Bermeo. The town where the artist was born can also boast of the ‘Stelae’ of the convent of San Francisco; the 18 sculptures that the sculptor donated and which form the ‘Euskal Kosmogonia’ group in the Lamera Park, next to the quay and the Tourist Office; the ‘Stela homage to the painter Benito Barrueta’; and the work ‘Matxitxakoko guda’, which marks the point on the coast where the unequal naval battle of Matxitxako took place and which was installed on the 70th anniversary of the event.

7. ‘MONUMENTO AL TXAKOLI’

On the seafront promenade in Bakio. Large-format work made of Corten steel and concrete.

8. ‘BIZKAIA, UNA OLA DE HIERRO’

Artaza roundabout, between Getxo and Leioa.

9. ‘MERIDIANO’

Santurtzi. It is part of the Santurtzi Open Air Sculpture Museum.

10. ‘LURRAREN ALDE’

La Arboleda, Valle de Trápaga. In Meatzaldea Goikoa Park, it pays homage to miners.

11. ‘MASCARÓN DE PROA’ AND MORE

In Bilbao there are, among others, the ‘Mascarón de proa’ in stone in Bonus Aires street and the ‘Mascarón de proa’ in Corten steel which is now in the Paseo del Campo de Volantín, as well as the ‘Memoria viva’ created in bronze as part of the Doña Casilda Park.

Néstor Basterretxea, one hundred years

Basterretxea’s public work is to be found in various places in Spain, as well as in the United States of America and South America. The young Néstor went with his family into exile in Argentina after the Spanish Civil War. While in Buenos Aires, he began to stand out as an advertising creative and painter.

In the early 1950s, he returned to Spain. During the sixties, he settled in Irun (Gipuzkoa), exhibited at the Sao Paulo Biennial, joined the Gaur Group and enjoyed success. He was the subject of anthological exhibitions at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, in Madrid, and the Museo de Bellas Artes, in Bilbao.