Website of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council - Artium Museoa, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country

The Artium Museoa Collection represents an exceptional contemporary public heritage collection comprising more than 2,800 works of art. The main body of this collection includes works and artists from the twentieth century, focusing primarily on productions from the 1950s to the present day.

The museum’s function is defined by the uniqueness of this collection, making it a key facility for exploring artistic practices developed in the context of the Basque Country in recent decades. Some of the works that can be found in the museum’s collection include those produced by artists such as Eduardo Chillida, Cristina Iglesias, Néstor Basterretxea, Jorge Oteiza, Esther Ferrer, Mari Puri Herrero, José Antonio Sistiaga, Antoni Tàpies and Susana Solano.

Architecture

Covering an area of more than 13,000 m2 next to the historic centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country is a contemporary art museum whose galleries are located beneath the inner courtyard square, which is also the location of the museum’s garden, known as Lorategi, that connects the only two visible volumes of the building.

Various works welcome the visitor to Artium Museoa: an important work by the artist Esther Ferrer entitled Números primos (Prime Numbers) (2003-2023), located in the museum’s inner courtyard; the Mural de la Cinémathèque de Paris (1972), a large ceramic mural originally created by Joan Miró and Josep Llorens Artigas for the French Cinémathèque, although it was never installed there; and, hanging over the entrance to the museum, a work by the artist Javier Pérez entitled Un pedazo de cielo cristalizado (A Piece of Crystallised Sky) (2001), made up of more than 12,000 pieces of blown glass of various sizes, vibrating and tinkling as they hit against each other.

Location

Visits and further information