San Telmo Museum: the exhibition “100 Years. The Modern and/or the Contemporary” inaugurates the remodeled gallery dedicated to Basque art
San Telmo Museum: the exhibition “100 Years. The Modern and/or the Contemporary” inaugurates the remodeled gallery dedicated to Basque art
Under the curatorship of art critic and editor Peio Aguirre, San Telmo Museum renovated its Basque Art hall in 2024. Entitled “100 Years. The Modern and/or the Contemporary,” the new exhibition moves past the barrier of the 1980s, which marked the end of the museum’s permanent exhibition, to accommodate contemporary creation and include work by artists who are a current part of the Basque art scene.
The exhibition also represents the beginning of a new approach for this space: “100 Years. The Modern and/or the Contemporary” is the first in a series of exhibitions that will be presented every 3-4 years and will have different curators, all with the aim of providing the most complete view possible of Basque art and contemporary creation in a current context. To that end, the exhibition is based on the San Telmo Museum’s own collections and pieces held in the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa’s Heritage Collection Center, to which pieces from other institutions may be added, such as, in this case, pieces from Kutxa Fundazioa, the Jorge Oteiza Museum Foundation, the Reina Sofía National Museum Art Center, as well as from private collections.
The remodeling of the San Telmo art galleries began in 2023 with the Historical Art Hall (which houses works from the beginning of the Basque Art movement) and it now culminates with this exhibition (which covers the period from the 1920s to today, including the most recent creations). Thus, the museum aims to make visible the heritage it has acquired over recent years, in addition to offering a synthesis of the last 100 years of Basque art.
A priority for San Telmo Museum is acquisitions in the area of Basque art, as this art revolves around Basque society. Therefore, the museum feels it has the obligation to acquire heritage pieces from Basque creators with the aim of having a representative collection. Thus, a path that was embarked upon more than 100 years ago is continued.
“100 Years. The Modern and/or the Contemporary” is housed in the remodeled hall and is also present in other parts of the museum: the entrance hall, the tower, the Industrialization Hall, and the choir.
San Telmo Museum
Plaza Zuloaga 1, San Sebastián.
Tel.: +34 943 481 580
Photograph: Iker Azurmendi.
