Jorge Oteiza Museum

Description

Sáenz de Oíza’s project for the museum, dedicated to his friend Jorge Oteiza, responds to the desire to create an exhibition container that gives a monumental character to the sculptural works on display. To do this, the architect reversed the design of the traditional religious temple, as he wrote. Whereas in churches the main naves are lit most brightly to emphasise their importance, in the museum the main hall is in semi-darkness, receiving indirect light from adjacent rooms lit from above. This room not only conveys something of the metaphysical concern with emptiness in Oteiza’s work, but also recalls the sculptor’s studio when he was working in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu.  The main area of the museum cleverly radiates into a network of ancillary spaces, all of which are intricately linked to the artist’s home studio.