Chillida's work captivates through its subtlety and simplicity, which develops from an inner logic. The passages, caves and tunnels appear not only in Chillida's graphics, but also in his concepts, projects and sculptures, in his paper reliefs and collages, as an essential form of creation. They add meaning. What is hidden in a form has always drawn him to guess at its secret, the inner reaches of the Earth. 'The Earth is slow...' Chillida once said. 'Depth is air', in words of the poet, Jorge Guillén.

From his complete works, it is clear that object and abstraction lie close to one another in their outermost consequence. Variations appear infinite. Chillida is in no danger of becoming formalist - the organic aspects of his creations remain vivid. The observer may raise his/her own hand in the wind and be reminded of the remarkable 'Wind Combs', or even of the entirety of the sculptures Chillida has created for the town of his birth, San Sebastián, on the Basque coast, as an impressive example of integrated art and architecture. There, as in so many other places in the world, Chillida has fused his art, of stone, terracotta and iron, with the surrounding natural coastal landscape. Wilderness and architecture become siblings, the entire area as well as the sea and each wave become an orchestra. What is outside is also inside. The house, the shell and the hand have become central motifs of the last decade. The casing which protects the inner space, the transparency of closed materials and with them, the emptiness of spirit, these are the ideas from which Chillida has managed to extract form. In his own words: 'What comes from oneself, is nearly from no one... There is only me as a link.' ek