GAUR, 1966–2026 - Lot 0

GAUR, 1966–2026 At a time when Spain was living under the yoke of Franco’s dictatorship, a small group of eight Basque artists came together to assert their avant-garde spirit. José Antonio Sistiaga, Amable Arias, Nestor Basterretxea, Remigio Mendiburu, Rafael Ruiz Balerdi, and José Luis Zumeta joined forces with the then-more-renowned Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida to create this movement—a Basque school—and breathe new life into society, all while respecting and championing each artist’s unique artistic and technical approaches. This movement aimed to raise widespread awareness in Hegoalde (the Spanish Basque Country). While the GAUR group (Today in Basque) provided the impetus in Guipúzcoa, the project was to expand to Biscay with the EMEN group (Here), the ORAIN group (Now) in Álava, and DANOK (All) in Navarre. For the six young artists in the group, who did not yet have the fame of Chillida and Oteiza, it was also a matter of revealing to Spain—and in particular to their Basque Country—the spirit of global artistic renewal that was spreading in the postwar period. Abstraction and gestural expression were gaining prominence in art in response to the widespread figurative style of the 1940s. Space and time fascinated both sculptors and painters. Basque identity shaped these artists, who in turn forged an artistic identity for the Basque Country. They are thus at the origin of the creative flourishing in the Spanish Basque Country that we can observe today. The GAUR manifesto aimed to create a new artistic school, in reaction to the conformism and cultural stagnation of the time in Spain. The goal was to mobilize the entire society, all artists without limitation of medium or doctrine, for a renewal and greater recognition. While this project faced difficulties in gaining traction at the time, we can now appreciate its legacy. The construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Arantzazu served as a catalyst and a unifying thread for this renewal and the collaboration among some of these artists. Rooted in a regional source and a local identity, this artistic momentum generated by the GAUR group of eight exceptional artists deserves international recognition. These artists all pursued intense careers until their deaths. Their legacy is invaluable, and there is a growing awareness of this artistic, cultural, and heritage wealth. Their works are featured in numerous institutions, cities, and villages across the Spanish Basque Country, at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastián, and the Basque Museum in Bayonne, among others, as well as in Spain’s national collections at the Reina Sofía, and in France at the Centre Pompidou and the National Film Archive. Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida are represented by internationally renowned foundations. To mark the 60th anniversary of the GAUR Group’s inaugural exhibition, held at the Barandiaran Gallery in San Sebastián in 1966, the Côte Basque ENCHERES auction house in Saint-Jean-de-Luz is pleased to organize, on Saturday, July 4, the first auction entirely dedicated to this Basque School. The event will be preceded, exceptionally, by a 10-day public exhibition. Rare works from the 1960s and the GAUR period will be offered for auction, along with later works representative of the evolution of these artists’ creations. All eight of these artists have since passed away. This auction on Saturday, July 4, will provide the international art market with an opportunity to pay tribute to them.