The Navarrese artist Carlos Ciriza presented the exhibition "Reflections on color, volume, space and emptiness", which will be exhibited at the Central Building of the University of Navarra between March 28 and April 10. The sample, organized by the Service of Cultural Activities Office and Social (SACYS) of the University of Navarra, is composed of sculptures and paintings interrelated.

According to Ciriza himself, "each sculpture has a painting that complements it. I have based myself on the sketches of the sculptures to paint on the boards or I have chosen a plan of a piece to represent it in painting".

The pictorial part of the exhibition consists of 30 medium-sized boards (60 x 60), worked with a two- and three-tone mixed technique, and which constitute collages with papers adhered to the background.

The 27 sculptures that complement the paintings are made of steel and bronze. All are placed on a pedestal of iron sheet, and Ciriza has played with space and emptiness in them, with special importance to the latter: "I see emptiness as a sculpture within the sculpture itself. The void that remains is like another piece, which can also be seen, and the union of volume and void is inseparable".

Pieces to play

In addition, the pieces are "to touch": "Sculpture is something visible, we should be able to touch it. When I go to a museum and they don't let me touch the works, I leave with the feeling that I haven't seen exhibition at all. The sense of touch is important, that's why you have to be able to feel the works," explained the author.

The sample, as its degree scroll indicates, is a reflection on color, volume, space and emptiness. Ciriza has tried to ensure that the pictorial part of this meditation is not only reflected in a plane, but also in the volume of the sculptures.

Regarding the fact of exhibiting in a university center, he commented: "This is a special place. All the work is designed for this space and is intended to be a place of meeting, of thought, which is a little out of the usual exhibitions. Besides, all the creations are new".

The artist, asked if he reflects himself in any particular author, said he tries to be "as independent as possible. I do what comes from inside me, from my soul. Anyway, that's for the critics to say".

This is not the first time that Ciriza (Estella, Navarra, 1964) sample his creations at the University of Navarra. In 1996 he inaugurated the exhibition space of Sciences Building Social during the IV International congress "European Culture" and, in November of the same year, his paintings and sculptures adorned the framework where the XI International conference "Communicators for 2000" took place.