Guía de escultura urbana

This work represents a middle aged and more or less life size, human male figure. Completely naked, standing with his legs slightly apart and his hands resting on his hips, he reflects the wear and tear left by the passage of time on the human body. The sculpture shows a real life model, a normal person, far removed from the standard canons of beauty and it has been created with precision and expressive force. José Ramón Anda is an artist who has brought a revival to Spanish figurative sculpture, by introducing into his works the influence of leading Italian contemporary sculptors, specifically Arturo Martini, Giacomo Manzú and, above all Marino Marini. The influence of the latter is clearly evident in the modelling of Kirolari Zaharra (Old sportsman), following Anda”s stay in Italy through a scholarship granted in 1974. This work of art should be considered emblematic in the initial creative figurative work produced by José Ramón Anda. Subsequently, towards the end of the seventiesand in the early eighties, the artist adopted other courses for his sculpture work, moving towards abstraction and practically abandoning his figurative style. This present sculpture was acquired by the City Council of Pamplona to add to its collection of contemporary art. The sculpture is current on display at the Arms Room in the Citadel. A similar work is located in the gardens of the sculptor”s house-workshop in Bacaico, and in the Capa Foundation Collection exhibited at the Castle of Santa Bárbara in Alicante.

José María Muruzabal