Agustín Ibarrola

Agustín Ibarrola(18 August 1930 – 17 November 2023) was a Spanish painter and sculptor.

Biography

Ibarrola was born inBasauri,Biscay,Basque Autonomous Community,Spain.In 1948, the Delegation of Biscay and the city council ofBilbaogranted him a scholarship to study inMadrid,where he lived until 1955.

Ibarrola had various exhibitions in Spain and in 1955 was transferred toParis.In 1957, he was a member of the groupEquipment 57with Duarte, Serrano, and others. This was in the time ofconstructivism.

Due to hiscommunistmilitancy, he was imprisoned for several years in the prison ofBurgos.In 1963, when an exhibition of his work inLondonwas mounted, a critic compared his work withGoya'sThe Disasters of War.

In the 1980s he began sculpting; this inspired him to create theOma ForestnearGuernica,which is perhaps his best known work. The piece is currently being relocated to the nearby Basobarri Forest due to a fungal infection destroying the original painted trees.

Ibarrola's work combined theBasquespirit with the social commitment of the humblest workers, people who tend towardsexpressionism.

One of his last and most spectacular works wasCubes of Memory,in the port ofLlanes.

In later years he was tied to the founder of the platform¡Basta Ya!,a civic group fighting againstterrorismin theBasque Country.Due to his bitter opposition toETA,a group proscribed as terrorist by the Spanish state, Ibarrola was threatened by ETA.

Ibarrola was awarded the Medal of the Order of the Constitutional Merit.

Ibarrola was known for his land art. One of his most famous works is Ibarrola's forest, where he painted many trees with a lot of colours creating a beautiful combination of nature and colours.

Agustín Ibarrola died on 17 November 2023, at the age of 93.