This is a publication produced by Grok Visual with an introduction by the artist himself, José Antonio Sistiaga. It was created to mark the retrospective exhibition of the painter organised by the Reina Sofía Museum in 2010.
From 26 June to 3 July, the Bilbao-born composer Luis de Pablo (leader of the experimental music group Alea) and the Madrid-based artist José Luis Alexanco, under the patronage of the Huarte family of industrialists, organised a series of cultural gatherings in Pamplona. Over 350 artists from all disciplines gathered at this avant-garde event, which sought to fuse with other non-Western cultures, in a wholly private affair and without the involvement of any official body. It all originated from the idea of paying tribute to Félix Huarte, the patriarch of this family of industrialists who had passed away shortly before.
They sought to bring together the finest of the artistic avant-garde, whilst also inviting the most dynamic representatives of Eastern culture and folk art, such as the Vietnamese artist Trân Van Khe and the Iranian artist Hossein Malek. This concept of fusion also included the Artze brothers playing the txalaparta and flamenco by Diego del Gastor. An ambitious programme that also featured installations by Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, the painted cinema of J.A. Sistiaga and the public poetry of Alain Asias-Misson. Sistiaga, who was then presenting the first fully painted feature film ever made, felt the need to capture what was happening there and so set out to film it on camera.
