Articulation III

Eduardo Chillida

Philosophy was a secondary passion for artist Eduardo Chillida, and he often discussed the ways in which different theories applied to art with such thinkers as Heidegger, Bachelard, and Paz. He would eventually distill the notion of his work’s meaning as an exploration of perception rather than experience, because “...experience...is conservative. You are in the present but with one foot in the past. ...I believe in perception, which is something else. It is riskier and more progressive. There is something that still wants to progress and grow.”

In Chillida’s etchings, as with his sculpture, there is a sense of asking the viewer the question, “What will happen next?” In “Articulation III,” the shapes appear almost electrified, bent and curling in stiff patterns suspended against a pale field, as if they’ve been tossed into the path of an unseen forcefield. Their final shape will be determined by the elements that envelope them as they fall, both literally and figuratively. Chillida might say the same is true with us.