In this project, the recent winner of the National Prize for Plastic Arts tries to unite, according to his words, “mythology, archaeoastronomy, magic and symbolism, reflecting on current ideas of space, time, energy, matter, thus providing them with soul and meaning.” The titles of the works that make up these Constellations refer to both stars and gods from diverse religions and cultures (Egyptian, Greek, Japanese, Arabic), linking the perception of celestial phenomena with their implications in the cycles of nature and mystical beliefs.

Since ancient times, both Eastern and Western civilizations have grouped stars into imaginary lines that have served to measure time and the seasons, as well as to orient themselves on journeys and to explain events through the invention of mythological narratives. On this occasion, Yturralde has been inspired by these figures of the cosmic sky and their cyclical movements to bring together a harmonious set, a constellation of paintings that delve deeper into his research into geometric shapes and color-light.

From his Enso series he has developed his interest in the symbolism and transcendence of the circle, which in Zen Buddhism evokes the universe, emptiness and infinity, while in other cultures it is associated with the concept of perfection and the sacred, of the beginning and the end. The current titles invoke stars and celestial spheres, like some of his Horizontes, where he reflected on the sublime and contemplation; although in previous compositions we found Eclipses and Ocasos, there are also Abismos among his new works around the curved line. These meditation spaces have the expressive condensation and emotional intensity of a haiku, they are poetic dialogues with time, space and emptiness.

The jury of the National Prize for Plastic Arts has recognised his “career with a high level of experimentalism that has connected art and science, and in which his work in spatial and formal research and his teaching work in the field of research into mathematical parameters, together with artistic ones, stand out”. His work is part of important institutional collections in our country: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and Fundación Juan March in Madrid, Museo de Arte Abstracto in Cuenca, IVAM and the Chirivella Soriano Foundation in Valencia, CAB Burgos, Museo Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, CAAC in Seville, Es Baluard and Fundación Miró Mallorca. It is also present in collections in the United States, Japan, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, France, Belgium, and Poland.

His latest projects include a carefully curated retrospective at the CEART Fuenlabrada (Madrid): cosmoscaos. Obras [1966 - 2019], the permanent installation of his Estructura volador. Homenaje a Velázquez (1977) at the Museu Fundación Juan March in Palma as part of its collection, and the intervention on the façade of the IVAM with the monumental Hathor (9 x 9 m). He is currently participating in the collective Imaginarios mecánicos y técnico en la Colección del IVAM, which can be visited at the same Valencian museum until October.