José Luis ZUMETA (1939–2020) - Lot 8

José Luis ZUMETA (1939–2020) Untitled Oil on canvas, signed lower right. 131 x 97 cm Provenance: Private collection, Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Exhibition: - Gaur Harreskerokoak, Michel Mejuto Gallery, Bilbao, March 11–April 17, 2016. A certificate of authenticity from Usoa Zumeta, the artist’s daughter, will be provided to the buyer. José Luis Zumeta established himself in the 1960s as one of the most innovative artists of his generation. A native of Usurbil, his work contributed to the emergence of a modern visual language that is free and deeply rooted in Basque culture. He also maintained a close relationship with Mikel Laboa and Joxean Artze, founding members of the Ez Dok Amairu movement, which was fundamental to the contemporary Basque cultural renaissance. His work develops an organic and earthy vocabulary, permeated by chromatic tensions, where the figure seems to constantly emerge and then dissolve into the pictorial material. Far from cold abstraction, his painting retains an instinctive, almost primitive physicality that links his work to a collective Basque memory as much as to postwar international artistic explorations, particularly geometric abstraction. He has also created several monumental works in public spaces, including the famous Usurbil mural. Through its expansive scale, rich color, and vital energy, the work affirms Zumeta’s unique commitment to making art a shared, living space deeply rooted in the community.