Ricardo Ugarte

(Pasajes, Guipúzcoa, 1942)

Campanas para el espíritu

1974

Series Campanas para el espíritu

iron

150 x 74 x 74 cm

Inv. no. E00090

BBVA Collection Spain



Although Ricardo Ugarte began his career as a painter, he earned a name in Spain and abroad for his sculptures which, like the rest of his oeuvre, underwent a formal and conceptual evolution with the passing of time.

This work from the BBVA Collection belongs to the middle lirismo escultórico period and more specifically to the series Campanas para el espíritu, that consists of then sculptures and was developed in 1974. It is made of laminated steel. To achieve its form, Ugarte welded several industrial modules that he deformed, welded and moulded until managing to create a structure that opens downwards from the upper section. Framed within an iron structure, the sculpture hangs from a circular-section solid iron bar that rests on the bars of the frame structure, conveying a notable sense of weightlessness. Conceived as a total artwork, Ugarte supplements visual perception with aural and kinesthetic inputs, creating a sculpture that engages practically with all the senses. The piece was executed with the intention of being manipulated by the beholder, who can activate it with a hammer. In this sesnse, Ugarte has carried out a renewal of the notion of sculpture, expanding into performance and installation and underscoring the importance of the spectator as an activating element of his works.

The work is also accompanied by a poem, published in 1974 in the catalogue the Museo San Telmo dedicated to the artist on occasion of the exhibition in which Campanas para el espíritu was presented for the first time:

En medio del silencio de la muerte
en el sopor cercano de la contaminación
física y espiritual
surge un toque de atención,
de alerta,
de llamada,
la vibración
atraviesa límpidamente
la nube sofocante.
Se convoca asamblea
para salir de nuestras trincheras
y empezar a empujar las tinieblas.
Somos ya pocos,
estamos agazapados
cubriéndonos,
tratando de respirar,
aguantando la riada
de detritus
contra corriente,
contra viento y marea,
en medio del huracán de la muerte,
soñando
en nuevos amaneceres;
vibrarán de nuevo,
vibrarán las campanas,
nos levantaremos
de nuestras tumbas,
alzaremos nuestros rostros
al aire fresco
y limpio de la mañana
y oiremos de nuevo
el tañir de las estrellas.

In the artist's own words, "the series reflects on the need for the spirit as the transcendence of being over the night of the human condition." Thus, this piece is an interesting example of Ricardo Ugarte’s poetic output. Throughout the years, the sculptor has experimented with new formal and conceptual solutions in response to the changing visual needs of contemporary society.