Basque Luxury Studio Opens ‘Azken Natura,’ an Exhibition by Jesus Mari Lazkano

ART&CULTURE
2026
SAN SEBASTIÁN

On September 11, Basque Luxury Studio (63 Portuetxe Street, Ground Floor, San Sebastián) opened Azken Natura, an exhibition by Jesus Mari Lazkano. The exhibition brings together six medium- and large-format paintings created between 2021 and 2026, alongside a screening of the short film Natura Fugit, created by the artist in collaboration with production companies Dibulitoon and Art Frame. For this 22-minute film, which premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2025, Lazkano produced nearly 3,000 drawings over the course of four years, depicting the melting of the Alpine glacier Mer de Glace and resulting in an animated short film of remarkable sensitivity and pictorial power.

The six works on display at Basque Luxury Studio—five acrylic paintings on canvas and one pastel and colored-pencil drawing on paper—are part of a body of work the artist has titled The Last Ice and present his distinctive vision of nature. The works confront us with ourselves, prompting us to question the way we engage with the natural world and exposing our utilitarian view of nature. His paintings present landscape, reality, and our surroundings as a space on the brink of collapse—a future landscape that, ultimately, if we do nothing to prevent it, will no longer resemble the one we know today.

From a visual arts perspective, Azken Natura enters the debate surrounding the sustainability of our actions in relation to the environment and the physical reality we are transforming. This debate can be approached from a purely scientific, political, or social perspective, but in the interplay among these fields, the communicative, visual, and emotional dimensions are often overlooked. We know the facts, but we need an emotional provocation that draws us in. Art can fulfill this role and, through emotional connections, raise awareness and help embed these issues in our collective imagination. Every paradigm shift is accompanied by a visual language that reflects and supports the corresponding conceptual and cultural transformation. This exhibition offers a visual framework around which we can engage in that debate.

Azken Natura is the eighth exhibition organized by Basque Luxury over the past decade. True to its commitment to promoting local culture, the company has organized solo exhibitions devoted to artists including Alfredo Bikondoa, Iñigo Manterola, Víctor Goikoetxea, Miguel Balliache, José Zugasti, and Jose Luis Zumeta. This year, Jesus Mari Lazkano takes center stage as one of the most prominent contemporary artists on the Basque cultural scene. Azken Natura will remain open to the public through September 2028. Visits are by appointment only and must be arranged in advance at info@basqueluxury.com.