Ismael Iglesias 2008. Photo: copyright Gert Voor in’t Holt.

The Neighbouring Environments programme was created by ARTIUM of Alava in 2004 with the intention of supporting, promoting and disseminating the work of artists based near the Centre-Museum. This involved the continuous monitoring of the latest proposals of new artists in Alava and the Basque Country and the results of this work has have been shown in a biennial exhibition. Now, following the exhibitions held in 2004 and 2006, ARTIUM of Alava presents the 2008 exhibition based on a selection of works by the team of curators of RMS La Asociación and Daniel Eguskiza.

Environment refers to what surrounds us and Neighbouring alludes to what is nearby, both in distance and in time. Nevertheless, however nearby these environments may be, they may not be known to everyone. The title of the exhibition and the entire programme alludes to a dual function: on the one hand, to reveal the current artistic context that surrounds the Centre-Museum, and on the other, to present the interests and personality of the artists that belong to this context, an approximation to this new generation. Thus, the environment of ARTIUM of Alava in 2008 would comprise the works of David Martínez Suárez, Alain M Urrutia, Ismael Iglesias, Zigor Urrutia, David Cívico, Taxio Ardanaz, Elena Aitzkoa Reinoso and June Crespo while the neighbouring environment of each one of these artists is conveyed in their proposals and in the materials contained in the consultation room.

David Martínez Suárez (La Hueria, 1984) continues the Menasa series on the industrial conflict protagonised by the workers of a dismantled steel mill in the Valle del Nalón in Asturias. This consists of Collages andensembles in which shapes, materials and images are brought together just as the autobiographical details and reflections on the heroic nature of a battle that was lost even before it began, are combined.

Ismael Iglesias (Durango, 1974) takes elements of graphic and digital design to create textures and screens in his fabrics, which, installed in the exhibition room, question the boundaries of architecture and of the paintings themselves. Taken down from the walls and placed in the form of a barricade or hoarding, these pictures play tricks on the eye and oblige the spectator to walk through a labyrinth in which quotations taken from the context that gives them meaning are hidden.

The canvases and drawings of Alain M. Urrutia (Bilbao, 1981) form part of a visual diary that gathers together the experiences and sensations of both accidental and provoked encounters: still-lifes discovered by accident, portraits of friends and acquaintances, inhabited landscapes, atmospheres enjoyed, appropriate images… Memories without apparent order reprocessed through painting and drawing that seek to retain what on occasions goes unnoticed and can even be forgotten.

Zigor Urrutia (Bilbao, 1971) reflects in Asfaltos blancos on the way in which cities have evolved over recent decades. His photographs present very cold, disquieting urban landscapes that move between what is real and unreal; empty stages from which actors -their inhabitants-have gone away; retouched, altered and highly-structured set designs, so much like the city which initially is thought to be real.

David Cívico (San Sebastian, 1974) bases his work on imagery in which opposites are switched (heavy becomes light), what should be below appears to be above, what was behind is now in front, what should remain hidden is in view and what should be visible can only be sensed - to question the process of artistic creation.

Taxio Ardanaz (Pamplona, 1978) explores in his drawings and paintings the strange nature of reality, highlighting the tragic nature of day-to-day life, which becomes a routine, a routine which many people consider themselves incapable of rebelling against. He creates images that, taken out of context and related to others, acquire new meanings and are framed in a narrative in which originally they were not found.

Elena Aitzkoa Reinoso (Vitoria, 1984) modifies spaces by developing associations between abstract paintings that are almost monochromatic but full of subtle hues that acquire the objectuality of sculpture and precarious constructions made with waste material which give a false impression of having a practical function.

The objects and drawings of June Crespo (Pamplona, 1982) articulate space by establishing relationships between planes, textures, colours, materials and shapes. Her works create tensions between figurative and abstract art, between what is complete and what is fragmented, geometry and shapelessness, composing a narrative on the way in which subjectivity is constructed and its identity through creation.