Aitor Ruiz de Egino

"Aitor Ruiz de Egino started with drawings. From two-dimensional works he moved on to three dimensions through ceramics. He has worked with iron, bronze and stone for sculpture, but his signature material aluminum, an uncommon choice among Basque artists. It is a shiny metal which barely rusts, making it ideal for imagining life. And thanks to aluminum, Aitor Ruiz de Egino found his way back to two dimensions.

He doesn't overwork his colors because the important thing is the shape, formed by clean metallic lines.

The spectator is left wondering what he has in front of him. What is this? An animal? A man? Both at once? Are these the arms of a man or the branches of a tree that has lived and is now dead? His work emits a surreal air of a mystery, deliberately fostered by the artist.

He organized an exhibition entitled Anthropozooformas, a name that perfectly defines the forms in front of us. Or it could even be anthropozophytoforms, since the extended limbs of these beings seem to resemble roots and branches. In general, the work of Aitor Ruiz de Egino is closely inspired by nature, and in particular by the nearby Adarra mountain, whose name means branch or horn in Basque. His works are living beings born from Mount Adarra and filtered though the artist's head.

The artist works in Hernani, at the Zikuzulo Workshop in the district of Zikuñaga. Hernani has had a close relationship with metal since ancient times and Aitor Ruiz de Egino has been linked to metal since childhood, since his father worked in a foundry. He has everything he needs for the creation of works of art, a nearby junkyard for his materials, an aluminum foundry within easy reach and paint for painting the metal. Everything he needs, on the slopes of Mount Adarra."

Nagore Irazustabarrena