In this project, the recent winner of the National Prize of Plastic Arts tries to unite, according to his words, "mythology, archaeoastronomy, magic and symbolism, reflecting on the current ideas of space, time, energy, matter, thus giving them soul and meaning". The titles of the works that make up these Constellations refer both to stars and gods of different 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 the stars under imaginary traces that have served them to measure time and the seasons, also to orient themselves in travel 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 put together a harmonious ensemble, a constellation of paintings that deepen his research into geometric shapes and color-light.
Since 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 for 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 Horizons, where he reflected on the sublime and contemplation; while in previous compositions we found Eclipses and Sunsets, there are also Abysses among his new works around the curved line. These spaces of meditation have the expressive condensation and emotional intensity of a haiku, they are poetic dialogues with time, space and emptiness.
The jury of the National Plastic Arts Award has recognized 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 de Cuenca, IVAM and Fundación Chirivella Soriano 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, Poland.
His latest projects include a careful retrospective at CEART Fuenlabrada (Madrid): cosmoscaos. Artworks [1966 - 2019], the permanent installation of his Estructura volante. Homage to Velázquez (1977) at the Museu Fundación Juan March in Palma as part of its collection and the intervention on the facade of IVAM with the monumental Hathor (9 x 9 m). He is currently participating in the collective exhibition Imaginarios mecánicos y técnicos en la Colección del IVAM, which can be visited at the same Valencian museum until October.