In Chillida’s practice, his graphic output and his sculptures are closely bound. In the late fifties, the artist began to research and experiment with engraving techniques. Just like in his sculpture, in his works on paper Chillida played with opposing concepts, like light and shadow, form and content, line and plane. The importance of the plane will be increasingly patent, ultimately covering much of the surface of the work, just like in another piece from the BBVA Collection, Inguru.

Basque culture is of the utmost importance in Chillida’s oeuvre. As he himself once stated: “I have my roots here, I create my work here, and it does not belong to me. I feel it with a desire for it to become a more universal culture by the day, but from our roots”. Indeed, his Basque roots are equally visible in the titles of his works, most of them in Basque. The title of this piece, Zeihartu, could be translated as Divert.

In Zeihartu II one can appreciate how the black areas, almost like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle, fit together, trap and enclose spaces, taking on almost labyrinthine forms at will, following his abiding concern for the overall volumetric conception. This single-colour yet visually powerful contrast became the artist’s signature and won him international acclaim.