Philip Aguirre y Otegui

(Belgium) *1961 in Schoten

Philip Aguirre y Otegui’s sculptures, assemblages and drawings bear a clear relationship to modern society. Aguirre explores the influence of history or contemporary political and social conditions on the identity of individuals. His sculptures are archetypes, unheroic and unsentimental carriers of a universal problematic. This impression is only strengthened by the apparent isolation of his figures, who seem ossified even when captured in the middle of movement. His works on display in “Blickachsen 10” are also both snapshots caught in a moment of time. “Men shaking hands (Politicians)” in the Bad Homburg Schlosspark shows two politicians who are shaking hands but only seem interested in the photographers. The “Man met borden / Man with Plates” on display in the Steigenberger Hotel is carrying a stack of plates as if caught in an endlessly self-repeating task. Aguirre works with traditional materials such as bronze, terracotta or wood, which he smoothes and polishes. This lends his sculptures a classical aesthetic. He swims against the tide of contemporary stylistic sensibility – but, as he says: “I can’t start a sculpture without thinking about beauty.”