Little did the painters José Luis Zumeta and José Antonio Sistiaga know that day in 1966 that fifty years later we would remember as a milestone in the history of Basque art of the 20th century their bold initiative: the decision to organize a painting exhibition parallel to those sponsored by the Center of Attraction and Tourism of San Sebastian.

Obviously, in the initiative of these two young painters there was a gesture of contestation, a sort of Salon des Refusés that launched its slap in the face of the official culture. The adhesions to that gesture -and, singularly, Jorge Oteiza's ability to mobilize the artists on whom he exerted his influence- came together in the training of the group Gaur: a handful of painters and sculptors (together with Zumeta and Sistiaga themselves, the Oteiza, Chillida, Basterretxea, Arias, Ruiz Balerdi and Mendiburu) who in some cases had already won international awards, who had been selected for some biennials and who nevertheless felt relegated in the local environment to the background or assimilated by the critics to phenomena with which they had little to do. Becoming group was a way of making themselves visible.

The start of Gaur would have been impossible without the generous sponsorship of businessman Dionisio Barandiarán and his gallery, where the first exhibition of group took place: far from a simple exhibition space, Barandiarán wanted to be a forum open to diverse experiences, debates and exchanges and in it, after the collective sample that meant the presentation of group, dance activities took place (at position by Juan Antonio Urbeltz from Pamplona), concrete poetry (at position by the Uruguayan poet Julio Campal) and music (with concerts of pieces by Stockhausen, Webern, Schönberg, Boulez, Stravinsky, etc.).). An opening that can be read within the plot that starts at group of Aránzazu, goes through the cinema-club of Irun and other cultural forums of the sixties and ends at the Pamplona Encounters. The "Basque School" was presented in society and the manifesto that was published with the first exhibition raised its protest (on mute, to avoid problems with censorship).

Certainly it cannot be said that Gaur embraced the most innovative trends of the decade, such as pop or minimal; nor can it be said that, unlike recent phenomena such as El Paso, Dau al Set, Crónica or Equipo 57, it represented a cohesive project under a common poetics: there were three clearly different generations and different plastic orientations in it, from constructivism to a certain informalism, passing through lyrical abstraction. And yet, under that plurality Gaur contained the seed of a collective initiative, a "cultural front" of avant-garde inspiration that was intended to be formed together with the groups Emen in Vizcaya, Orain in Alava and Danok in Navarre, to act as a cultural and political revulsive.

Over the years, the group Gaur has been the subject of reflection and examination on several occasions. Its fiftieth anniversary, however, offers an opportunity to delve into some questions: How did that plural plastic proposal develop? To what extent was that "front" viable in the context of the late Franco regime? How did the transition to cinema or architecture of some of these artists accompany this attempt? What were the fundamental differences between Ibarrola's political and propagandistic attitude and Oteiza's more pedagogical strategy? How did the delicate relationship between some members of Gaur and the Navarrese artists develop? The symposium Gaur: Fifty Years / Berrogeita Hamar Urte, to be held on October 27 and 28 at the Museo Universidad de Navarra, will try to answer these and other questions.

Gaur: Cincuenta Añoa / Berrogeita Hamar Urte.
University of Navarra Museum, October 27th and 28th.
entrance free of charge.