The Gustavo de Maeztu Museum presents the work ‘Westminster Underground Station’ by the artist Xabier Morrás in the exhibition space ‘Sugerencias’.
The Gustavo de Maeztu Museum presents the work ‘Wesminster Underground Station’, an oil on canvas by Xabier Morrás in the ‘Sugerencias’ exhibition space
The Gustavo de Maeztu Museum has the ‘Suggestions’ exhibition space at its entrance. A space that temporarily brings together relevant works and events from the world of art.
On this occasion, the space hosts the work ‘Westminster Underground Station’, an oil on canvas that represents the great architectural work that is Westminster Station in London.
The contrast between modernity and tradition is what led Xabier to present this work in the ‘Suggestions’ space. On the one hand, the modern style, which represents Westminster Station in London, and on the other, the traditional style of the building that houses the Gustavo de Maeztu Museum.
In addition, Xabier studied the place where the piece was to be exhibited, an imposing and robust stone wall conceived as an artistic space, inviting the work to reflect. The texture of this wall creates an interesting contrast with the architectural structure of Westminster Station, represented in Xabier’s work.
In 1966, he obtained a grant from the Diputación Foral de Navarra and travelled to London to study painting, a city that left its mark on him. Nowadays, he constantly travels to the London capital, to appreciate the sights he remembers from his trip and to discover new realities.
On one of his latest trips, he discovered London’s Westminster Station, a work of modern engineering that made an impact on him.
He is currently working on a large format painting about this station. When Xabier is impressed by a subject, he captures it in his large format works. This work that he is exhibiting in the ‘Suggestions’ space is a sketch of the large-format work he is currently working on.
As a result of his first trip to London, Xabier began to paint pictures with London as the main theme, and in 1969 he presented his ‘London’ series in Pamplona, a series that he continues to enrich with new works.
Throughout the years and his continuous trips to London, he has managed to accumulate a very important documentary collection of photographs, drawings and souvenirs.
The work ‘Westminster Underground Station’ is exhibited for the first time in the Gustavo de Maeztu Museum and in turn in the town of Estella-Lizarra, a town very dear to Xabier’s heart. His paternal family is from Lacar, a town very close to Estella-Lizarra, where he spent part of his childhood and during that period he used to travel to Estella-Lizarra with his family. He has fond memories of Estella-Lizarra, describing it as a beautiful and endearing town.
Xabier considers Westminster Station to be of an enormous architectural style and beauty, and believes that the human beings who pass through it become tiny in the face of the station’s architectural grandeur.
In the work we can appreciate the play of colours with black and grey, with some shades of red, as in his previous works, with an interest in the industrial city.
Xabier Morrás
Xabier Morrás Zazpe, born on 28 January 1943 in Pamplona, is an outstanding painter from Navarre whose art has reflected, for decades, a deep concern for urban, social and military realities. From his first steps at the Pamplona School of Arts and Crafts, Morrás showed a talent that would soon open important doors for him. In 1964, a grant from the Provincial Council of Navarre enabled him to hold his first solo exhibitions, first at the Museum of Navarre and then at the prestigious Amadís Gallery in Madrid.
The desire to explore new horizons led Morrás to receive another grant in 1966, this time to perfect his painting in London and Edinburgh, where he lived until 1968. Years later, in 1974, a grant from the Juan March Foundation took him to New York, immersing him in the city’s vibrant artistic environment, an experience that would leave an indelible mark on his work.
Between 1971 and 1986, Morrás took over the management of the Sala de Cultura of the Caja de Ahorros de Navarra in Pamplona. During this period, he promoted numerous exhibitions of great importance for the cultural scene in Navarre. In 1987, he began teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Bilbao, a path he followed until his retirement in 2013, transmitting his passion and knowledge of art to generations of students.
Morrás’s work is notable for its critical realism, often dealing with urban and industrial themes, as well as the horrors and consequences of war. His works, infused with dark tones and shades of red, reflect a society in constant tension. Large cities, such as London, New York, Chicago and Berlin
New York, Chicago and Berlin, together with Navarrese settings, become the backdrops of his artistic narrative. The human figure, omnipresent in his canvases, expresses through looks and gestures a vast range of emotions and attitudes.
Admission to the Museum is free and it can be visited from Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm and Sundays and public holidays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
