NORA AURREKOETXEA
Bilbao, Spain, 1989
Received the Fundación Botín Art Grant in 2017

ERAZTUNAK - paneles 1, 2 y 3, 2020
Plasterboard panels, threaded and corrugated rods, bronze and silver rings.
Installation. Variable dimensions
Acquired in 2020

This series of three panels forms a triptych in which the artist reflects upon the relationship between architecture and ornament. Traditionally, artists partook in the decoration of buildings, adding frescoes, trompe-l’oeil, sculptures and so on. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, architects have shunned ornament, instead asserting the intrinsic aesthetic quality of the building materials.

In Basque language, the word “eraztunak” stands for “ring”. The title thus refers to the bronze and silver moldings of ring mounts the artist has used to adorn the off-the-shelf drywall panels that constitute the structure of her work. However, it is worth noting that she did not fit the mounts with the precious stones she had removed from the rings before she cast them. While the process of casting evokes classical sculpture, Aurrekoetxea’s choice to display just the mounts relates them to the status of the plasterboard: both are structural and yet are either invisible or given less prominence.