Etxe 2012

Curator: Standing before us is "Etxe," a 2012 metal sculpture by Patxi Xabier Lezama Perier. Editor: My first thought is that it’s imposing, yet somehow also feels very…open. Those cutouts puncturing the monolithic form create a sense of lightness, a strange harmony. Curator: Indeed. What intrigues me most is how the artist transforms raw industrial material, heavy metal, into something that points skyward, light and almost spiritual. I'm thinking about the labour involved in shaping this solid form. The processes, the welds, the treatments given to this metal, all contribute to the meaning as much as its final shape. Editor: For me, those geometric voids become almost symbolic eyes, each level seemingly gazing out at different perspectives. Notice how the starburst form repeats. Star shapes have carried religious weight throughout history. Do you think there's a commentary here about sight and vision? Perhaps an implied critique of blind faith, represented by the opacity of the base and the promise of more enlightened awareness as one gazes toward the spire? Curator: Perhaps. The use of repetition, as you pointed out, is strategic in a way that evokes architectural rhythms – like windows along a factory or ventilation shafts. That connection to functional structures highlights its identity not merely as art, but also as manufactured. A form is being repeated that draws visual similarities to industrial processes and factory production, yet the medium is metal. Is this simply public art for the sake of public art or something deeper at play here? Editor: Public art, after all, often bears a responsibility. Maybe it’s meant to inspire a critical viewpoint or to bring the eye toward aspects of Basque industry. Still, it might tap deeper layers of communal history, subconscious symbolism related to the star, and even aspiration – a visual ladder extending towards knowledge and progress. Curator: Ultimately, Perier is prompting us to ponder our environment. The use of fabricated materials as components of beauty provokes dialogues about industry and what exactly 'nature' means now in relation to this context. Editor: Very well said. The more time I spend looking, the more questions arise from this sculpture. What at first seemed monolithic is in fact quite layered.