*For Immediate Release*
CT Sculptor Joe Gitterman Unveils Commission at the Urkiola Sanctuary in Northern Spain. Urkiola Beech Tree: A Work of Art Created for the 75th Anniversary of the Bilbao Diocese
LOCATION: The Urkiola Sanctuary in the Basque Province of Vizcaya, in northern Spain. The Urkiola Sanctuary is surrounded by beech and birch forests in the Urkiola Nature Reserve and is near the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and San Sebastian.
DATES: Ongoing; Open to the public
ARTIST WEBSITE: www.joegitterman.com
ARTIST SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: @joegittermansculpture #joegittermansculpture
CT sculptor Joe Gitterman is honored to announce that his commission, Urkiola Beech Tree, is now on view at the Urkiola Sanctuary in the Province of Vizcaya, in northern Spain. Created for the 75th Anniversary of the Bilbao Diocese, the work was blessed by Mons. Joseba Segura, Bishop of Bilbao, in an opening ceremony at Urkiola on October 6, 2024.
Joe Gitterman on the Urkiola Beech Tree sculpture:
“Through a series of serendipitous connections, I have created a work of art for the 75th Anniversary of the Bilbao Diocese that I hope captures the essence of the Basque Beech tree and gives the viewer a sense of the rejuvenation of life and its infinite possibilities. Since 2018, I have had the great fortune to experience the beech forests on horseback riding trips led by my wife, María Elena Dendaluce, which include a visit to the Urkiola Sanctuary. Five years ago, during a visit, guided by Félix Moreno, guardian of the Sanctuary, I had a brief conversation with him and after a while he stopped, looked me straight in the eyes, and said: ‘You will return.’ I was surprised by the frankness of this statement. I did not give it much importance until last year, on my sixth visit, when Félix asked me about my profession, and I replied that I was a sculptor. While we were having coffee the next day, Félix told me that he had been looking at my website the night before. Then he said: “I like your work.” If I had not been sitting, I would have fallen in surprise. He continued: “Would you consider building a sculpture for the Sanctuary?” And I nearly had a heart attack when I heard myself say: ‘Yes.’ When Felix asked me what the work should represent, my un-hesitated answer was ‘a Beech tree’ and he agreed. We discussed the details of the commission, and I was amazed to learn that Alfa Arte, the renowned international sculpture fabricator, was in Eibar, only an hour away.
Urkiola has an aura around it that makes the place not only special but overwhelming and truly awesome. There are many forests in this area of mystical beech trees which were cut down at waist height to make charcoal for steel - the cornerstone of many Basque forms of livelihood. These trees re-sprout branches that reach straight up and when one is in the beech tree forest, they produce an atmosphere that I feel has mystical and hypnotic power and is at the same time welcoming.
It is my sincere hope that this work will give hope, joy, and inspiration to present and future Basques as well as visitors from around the world.”
Technical details
The Urkiola Beech Tree sculpture is made of stainless steel and fabricated entirely at Alfa Arte in Eibar, in the Basque Country of Spain, from a model the sculptor created in the United States. It is constructed from a single piece of stainless steel, 3 meters high, and weighs approximately 400 kg.
Biography
Joe Gitterman (1936) is an American sculptor. Born in New York, Joe attended schools in New York City, Connecticut, and Virginia. He continued his studies at the New School, The Art Students League, and the Pratt Institute. Sculpting since 1969, it wasn’t until Joe retired from a 30-year career on Wall Street that he dedicated himself to the full-time pursuit of making art.
Joe’s career has catapulted since his first exhibition at a local Connecticut gallery in 2011. He has received commissions from Norwegian Cruise Lines, The Riverside Building in London, the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston, and the Robert A.M. Stern-designed Arris building in Washington, D.C., among many others. Joe has exhibited widely, and his sculptures are in numerous private and corporate collections in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Artist Statement
Gitterman‘s sculpture was initially inspired by a love of ballet and modern dance. He states, “I thought about the movements of dancers as a series of frames in an old celluloid film, and how just one of those frames could convey a fantastic sense of motion. I am working to capture this ‘single frame of motion’ in solid sculptures. For me, movement is the breath of life: it releases the power, or subtlety, of any form in repose - the promise of action. My sculpture examines the relationship between fixed form and movement: each sculpture attempts to suggest the transformation that is possible."
Sculpting maquettes in copper, wax, or acrylic, Gitterman chooses to cast in bronze or fabricate in stainless steel. His work ranges from intimate hand-size pieces to dramatic work well beyond the human scale. The surface texture and color of each piece accentuate either dynamic movement or sensual form. Whether clean, crisp stainless steel, bronze with a leather-like patina, or a vibrant yellow knot, they are abstractions and gestures. He does not make editions thus each of his works is an original.
Photographer credit: LÓPEZ DE ZUBIRIA ©
Instagram: @ _lopezdezubiria_