NATXO  ZENBORAIN -ART-

DIARIO DE IBIZA – Murals 1985

Art

Natxo Zenborain, a life filled with color

Natxo Zenborain has just arrived on our island. Large cities have begun to transform their appearance. Big façades, once dull or even unpleasant to look at, now offer a face full of color and pleasing to the eye, with varied landscapes, diverse compositions, or imagined balconies and façades. It is the new urban art: the art of murals, the art of doors, hallways, living rooms—the art of life, in a word, made color.

“In ancient times, people transformed all spaces with their imagination; they filled life with color. For example, the Parthenon in Athens, the entire Minoan culture with its decorated interiors and exteriors, and without going so far back, the richness found in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican with Michelangelo’s painting. What I mean is that this has always been an art form. Even in prehistory, as seen in Altamira, mural art was part of human life.”

Natxo Zenborain now turns his attention, in Eivissa, to a city beginning to transform into a massive urban organism; he wants color to become part of its life, or for life itself to acquire a sense of color.

“I believe that in Ibiza, with the support of the city council or the corresponding institutions—just as it is done in Madrid, Barcelona, or any other city—some of these façades could be transformed into something alive, something beautiful and illustrative. I think there are façades and light enough to do this, and it could become part of the city’s heritage, because everyone sees it.”

Natxo Zenborain brings with him an extensive artistic portfolio of photographs documenting what he has created throughout almost his entire life. Doors that open or close filled with color, murals in living rooms, façades, interiors and exteriors… color for everyday life. Landscapes, figures, compositions, new original forms, different perspectives, new volumes, etc. Natxo is like a god who transforms life.

DEIA – Preamble 4 Spaces (1991)

**He gives up mounting his exhibition due to municipal requirements

Natxo Zenborain calls Beriain “arrogant”**

Pamplona artist Natxo Zenborain decided a few days ago to abandon the idea of mounting his photographic exhibition in the Polvorín of the Ciudadela, choosing instead to present it in other, more informal spaces in the city—above all, places free from bureaucratic dictates.

IRUÑA.Ignacio Cemborain Echegoyen submitted yesterday a formal request at the City Council’s general registry, asking Citizen Promotion to return my dossier and the photos and texts that were supposedly intended for the catalogue and promotional materials. These materials referred to the exhibition that the artist was going to display in the Polvorín of the Ciudadela from the 16th to the 24th of this month, had it not been for the conditions imposed by the municipal area of Citizen Promotion as a requirement for using the premises adjacent to the old city walls.

In addition to other formal matters related to the institutional publicity that had to be displayed in the venue, mounting the exhibition in the Ciudadela meant that Zenborain himself would have to take responsibility for cleaning and guarding the premises that would house his artistic work.

The municipal conditions also stated that the venue remained subject to the needs of the City Council and that such a concession did not entail any financial compensation or subsidy whatsoever.

“Given what I have seen,” Zenborain wrote in his request, “I renounce my exhibition in the Polvorín of the Ciudadela.”

This Pamplona artist and critic has decided to move his work to more informal environments.

NAVARRA HOY – Exhibition “4 Spaces” (1991)ART**

An Inner World

Zenborain plays with sensations and impressions in his works**

Restless and multidisciplinary, Natxo Zenborain unfolds his art across different artistic facets—different faces of the same polyhedron that reaches painting, mural work, and photography as an interconnected whole. Today, he is the creator of a unique exhibition scattered across various points in the city: Donegal, Primi, and Niza—three bars that display a small part of his work, meant to be seen separately but deserving of a full, unified viewing.

Natxo has experimented in the past with murals and collage, in Navarra as well as in Ibiza and Formentera, with masks and street activities. He has also participated in the media (Deia, Cuatrovientos…), and every week he renews the aesthetics of Bar Donegal, which he transforms according to its musical and festive offerings. This story began in the late 1970s.

– What are the dominant characteristics of your work?“The artist is the least suitable person to talk about his own work, but the most original aspect is that everything is invented, and from that point you search for results that depend on how you combine the elements. If commissions give you free rein, you work much more comfortably and the result is always far less limited.”

– How do you work?“I work in a fairly free way. However, when I choose a theme, I focus on it to the point of dedicating myself constantly to that subject. If I leave that field to work on another, it depends on the availability of each moment, but if a particular piece needs to come out, I devote myself to it methodically and in an orderly fashion.”

– What is the hardest thing to express?“Forms of expression depend on each activity. In mural work, the issue is technique, and people push you—above all—to expand spaces by playing with perspectives to achieve sensations, something that has always been done. In painting, I play freely with material and color, creating a world in which each person can see whatever they wish. And in photography, I have used my knowledge of painting, although in works with models or psychedelic objects, they are slides of sensations, whose results come from different mixtures previously experimented with.”

– How would you define your work?“As an inner world, a world I carry within me—not as realistic as a specific commission, but another form of expression, one that seeks to connect with that world or with each person’s own inner world, which may tell them something very different from what it tells me in the subconscious.”

– Why do you use different means of expression, often simultaneously?“Because you need certain aesthetic preferences when creating a piece or choosing a medium. When you work on something, you must have studied it beforehand. It is impossible to reproduce in painting what I have previously experienced in slides, and each medium has its own field of action that does not stop and is interconnected with the others.”

– What are your projects?“I already have several collage schemes prepared using my own photographs, and also ideas for a mural that would be worthwhile in every sense. And mainly, to move outside Pamplona, because I am very burned out by my city.”

SANTIAGO J. NAVARRO

EGIN (?-2-1991)Art**

Three bars in Iruñea, three spaces for Natxo Zenborain

Painting, photography, music and polaroid distortions**

The bars Donegal, Primi and Niza in Iruñea have hosted since March 1st a three‑space exhibition by Natxo Zenborain. The artist has installed his paintings in Primi and his original distorted polaroids in Donegal, although both venues also display part of his graphic work as a photographer. Niza will be the setting, on the 7th and 14th at 9 p.m., for the projection of the audiovisual “Sensaciones”, in which—according to the artist—“the viewer finds themselves immersed in a constant succession of subjective information that their mind decodes according to each individual’s personal capacity.”

In the words of critic Juan Zapater, “this man, who once practiced the meritorious vocation of journalism, decided that, given how today’s society is conceived, it was less boring to take refuge in that time when psychedelia opened a door of colors beyond whose threshold one perceived a world full of vertigo.” Zapater does not place the artist within any specific ismo, but considers the exhibition “a significant yet incomplete sample of the universe that revolves around this heterodox subject”: “there is movement, a sensation of weightlessness, an atmosphere of imprecise and blurred limits, a labyrinth of appearances—in short, pure play.”

From the City Council to the bars

According to what the artist himself told EGIN, the exhibition was initially going to be installed under the responsibility of the Iruñea City Council, from whom Natxo Zenborain received a verbal offer and permission to use the premises from February 16th to 24th. The Citizen Promotion Area of the City Council demanded a series of conditions for the artist to exhibit in the Polvorín of the Ciudadela: responsibility for guarding and cleaning the premises, as well as covering the costs of catalogues, publicity, transportation of materials, assembly and dismantling of the exhibition, etc.

Faced with these conditions, Zenborain sent a letter to the councilor in charge of Citizen Promotion, Maribel Beriain, informing her that, after being unable to establish direct communication with her, “morally, and in view of your arrogance,” he felt “obliged to renounce” his own exhibition.

Sources within the City Council stated that such conditions for exhibiting “are not normal” in the organization of shows usually programmed by the area.

After this episode, the artist decided to install his exhibition on the walls of three bars in the city, where this type of cultural activity is already common.

P.Y., Iruñea

NAVARRA HOY (CULTURE) – 14 April 1991Art

Crossroads

Yesterday, the ENT premiered the production “Egunsenti esperientzia,” a proposal that fuses music, dance, and color.

“Egunsenti esperientzia” is a global performance. It blends music with dance in a production that incorporates several innovative elements. “Egunsenti” was born under the direction of Raúl Madinabeitia at the Pablo Sarasate Conservatory in Pamplona. At first, it was composed of txistu students, but the group’s evolution led them to integrate traditional Basque instruments with violin, cello, guitar, and percussion. This atypical show premiered yesterday at the Navarra School of Theatre and will tour other towns in the Basque Autonomous Community.

To create this experience, Ana Moreno, professor at the Government of Navarra’s Dance School, contributed choreography to three of the ten musical pieces performed by “Egunsenti.” The slides by Natxo Zenborain and the lighting by Afonso Lainez shape the rest of the performance.

For Raúl Madinabeitia and Ana Moreno, the show presented yesterday—and which will travel to other towns in the Basque Autonomous Community—is a different kind of experience that seeks to encompass elements rarely combined. From the outset, the fact that txistus and violins share a score draws attention. Even the distribution of the musicians on stage is unusual and reflects this idea of innovation and breaking with the conventional layout of an orchestra. Positioned at two different heights, taking advantage of the stage’s structure, and with elaborated percussion, they achieve a sound effect that is, at the very least, interesting: “Above all, it was about creating a different experience,” said Ana Moreno. “For the Dance School, it is essential to perform with live music and not recorded tapes. This is the first time we have performed under these conditions.”

The creation of the production took nearly a year, although the actual execution required much less time: “What takes the longest is having a clear idea of what you’re going to do.”

Choreography

Ana Moreno created the choreography for three pieces: Horiko Txoria, Vals, and Capriccio. Each required a different choreographic approach, performed in all cases by eight students from the Dance School:

“For Horiko Txoria, I prepared a slow and gentle choreography because the music evokes a sense of nostalgia. Long, flowing skirts help create that effect. In the Vals, I didn’t want to create an expected dance. I wanted to break rhythm and timing. Overall, it is a divertimento in which a girl dressed in a tutu and pointe shoes cannot dance because her friends constantly prevent her, wanting to be the protagonists themselves. In the end, no one dances. Finally, for Capriccio, the most abstract piece, I created a choreography based on lines and space, with six clearly differentiated parts. I mix elements of more classical dance, such as ballet shoes, with the short pants and suspenders worn by the dancers.”

In addition to the coexistence of music—sometimes harmonized in a traditional way and other times more contemporary—with dance, the slides projected onto the stage helped create an atmosphere of color, sometimes exaggerating a rhythmic idea and other times adding suggestions. Natxo Zenborain’s slides reproduced organic elements, shapes swirling and falling over the dancers and musicians.

JAVIER MURO, Pamplona

NAVARRA HOY (Culture & Entertainment) – 13 February 1992Art

The Navarrese artist Natxo Zenborain presents his psychedelic performance

The audiovisual show combines images, music, and live interpretation

The Navarrese artist Natxo Zenborain presents today, at nine and at one in the morning at El Subsuelo, a psychedelic performance. According to the document, “Imágenes coloristas se funden y alternan, en una experiencia que tiene como fin la estética y busca la sorpresa del público”. It is an audiovisual show carried out with five slide projectors and the presence of an actor who will evolve to the rhythm of the music.

A total of 250 slideswill be projected tonight at El Subsuelo. All of them are Natxo’s work, developed over five years. As the text explains, these slides “recrean mundos orgánicos con un predominio absoluto del color y de la forma sugerente”. Over time, he has perfected the use of enamels and lacquers and how they react when mixed, producing accidental pigment structures later photographed by Zenborain.

These more psychedelic slides will merge with others containing more realistic motifs, though always treated in a somewhat distorted manner. From stains, the face of a woman begins to appear, or an arm, or legs walking. Natxo manipulates the five projectors in rhythm with the music, which is a mix of songs from multiple groups, all with a strong and marked beat.

On this musical base, actor Pablo Asiáin, from the Navarrese theatre group Hitz Anaitasuna, will evolve. As the article states, “el actor estará en todo momento ‘tatuado de colores’”, since the images will be projected continuously onto his body.

El Subsuelowill feature three screens. One will be placed on the small stage where Asiáin performs, with three projectors acting on both the screen and the actor. The two lateral screens will display the “most psychedelic” images. Even before the show begins, the audience will enter a slightly transformed bar, as Natxo has placed objects to create a specific atmosphere so spectators enter the “game” from the start.

The psychedelic performance will take place at nine and at one in the morning, in two sessions that will be different due to the nature of the show, which varies as it unfolds.

With this show, Natxo seeks purely an aesthetic result. The text notes that “cada persona reacciona de una manera diferente al ver las imágenes y meterse en el espectáculo”. There are no concrete messages; the audience shapes the final meaning.

The most notable part of the show is his photography: slides in which he “trato de buscar atmósferas irreales… Pretendo jugar con las imágenes”. Zenborain has already carried out similar experiences in other Pamplona venues, including a minimalist‑music performance at Café Niza the previous year.

A multifaceted creator

Painting, photography, and mural work are among the artistic activities Natxo Zenborain cultivates. Always outside the city’s official art circuits, he shows his work more often in bars than in galleries or municipal halls. For five years he has worked in photography, using Polaroid distortion and photomontage, often requiring extensive work. He alternates his artistic practice with teaching drawing and painting, currently giving classes at the Larrabide retirees’ club.

He also alternates these facets with the creation of global performances that mix sound, image, and interpretation to recreate more or less delirious worlds, always with striking aesthetics. Tonight at El Subsuelo, the public will have the opportunity to see his latest work.

JAVIER MURO – Pamplona

EGIN –1992 Exhibition at Banco Hispano + 4 audiovisuals (1992)

ArtPsychedelic Suggestions

– Zenborain exhibits a mix of photographs, paintings, and audiovisuals in Iruñea. – The color he uses is one of the foundations of his work. – He believes that “those who govern here do not care about art.”

Natxo Zenborain is presenting, until next January 7th, an exhibition at the Central Hispano 20 hall in Iruñea, where painting, photography, and audiovisuals are combined, all created with very vivid colors that give the show a psychedelic air.

A significant part of the exhibition consists of Polaroid photographs mixed with painting, while other images are photographs passed through psychedelic filters that mutate the color. Many of these works have an almost advertising touch, and Zenborain believes that advertising is the activity “where the most money is spent to produce beautiful objects, but, as you can see, here there is no sign inviting anyone to buy anything—these are simply playful images.”

Zenborain began painting many years ago and initially dedicated himself to creating decorative murals. Later, around 1985, he “got bored” of Iruñea and went to Ibiza, where he spent a year working on murals and decoration in nightclubs and private homes. Upon returning to Nafarroa, he resumed photography, “which I had left aside since ’78 or so, and since what I handle best is color, the photos always have a lot of color.”He believes that both painting and photography are ultimately “playing with light and color; in that sense they are the same, although painting gives you another way of doing things and photography gives you realism, although I usually present them distorted, because I already see enough realism and prefer to have fun in other ways.”Color, he says, is the common denominator of his work, and rather than forms, he presents suggestions—“it’s about playing a bit with fantasy and changing reality.”

Although he does not have formal academic artistic training, he understands training as daily work, information, and acquired knowledge. Like many other artists, he makes a living teaching painting classes, in his case to retirees. “All these years I’ve either taught children—so I know what temperament is—or I’ve taught adults, and now I’m with the elderly. You end up seeing an amalgam of ways of doing things; whether you want to or not, a child gives you knowledge, an older person too, and an adult is always receiving information.”

Constant evolution

Regarding the evolution of his work, he has the following theory: “You start down one path, then you travel several paths, you assimilate one that you understand better—even if you’ve understood others—and you dedicate yourself more to that one where you’ve seen an easier way out, not commercially, but because you can do it and throw yourself into it. It’s a continuation in which you keep experimenting and always multiplying—you have one small thing and keep adding others; it’s a constant evolution.”

In the audiovisuals—four of which are presented in the exhibition—Zenborain plays with music, “psychedelic music that I like, or minimalist music, synthesizers, and other atmospheres.”This minimalist music is by a young Pamplonese, Andoni Fourcaud, while another friend of Zenborain creates the psychedelic record mixes.

He states that both in Ibiza and in Catalonia “they have a completely different story from here; in Catalonia they care a lot about what they have, about their own people, while those who govern and command here do not care at all. Instead, they dedicate themselves to grabbing anything from outside that they already know works. Authorities need to come down and find out what they have in their own territory.”

IRUÑEA – Felipe Rius

REVISTA NAVARRA DE ARTE – Nº 10 (June/August 1996)

Actions and Reactions in the Horno

Natxo Zenborain

With the ironic observation that “in the world there exist as many bellybuttons as people,”Natxo Zenborain (Pamplona, 1960) turns his exhibition in this space—circular like the bellybutton he refers to—into a journey through his own work and through the experiences and people close to him.

Two axes mark and define his activity: chromatic exaltationand image manipulation. With both, he subverts the portrayed reality to give legitimacy to his belief that “art is a principle of observation of the real or imaginary world in which elementary forms multiply and transform according to the creative capacity of the author.”

REVISTA NAVARRA DE ARTE (RNA) – Nº 2 (January/February 1995)

Natxo Zenborain – Art in postcards for France

The French company Société 36 Bis de Grisalleshas selected Natxo Zenborain as its main artist for a collection of 162 postcardsmarketed across 44 French regions.

The collection includes works by painters, photographers, caricaturists, and illustrators such as Dubois J.C., Pascal Laye, and Philippe Pierry, but the artist with the largest number of selected works is the Pamplonese Zenborain, with 60 imagesreproduced from his production over the last ten years.

Natxo Zenborain is the only non‑French artistincluded in this initiative.

Additionally, the artist plans to commercialize in Pamplona, also in postcard format, seven of his graphic works—those that contain an explicit reference to the Sanfermines.

EGIN – Culture – Sunday, 12 March 1995

THE TRANSFORMATION OF POSTCARDS NATXO ZENBORAIN PUBLISHES HIS WORKS IN POSTCARD FORMAT

Natxo Zenborain, a Pamplona‑born artist, opens an exhibition of postcards.His works are distributed throughout the French State.In March they will be exhibited at Donegal, on San Francisco Street in Pamplona.

Natxo Zenborain is an artist immersed in the world of postcards. He is concerned that postcards are valued more abroad than in Euskal Herria. He believes that artists from here are not taken into account, and therefore “you have to go abroad if you want to do something.”His works are distributed mainly in France. In March he has opened an exhibition at Donegal in Iruña.

Zenborain’s postcards can be found in 44 departments of the French State, thanks to an agreement reached with the company 36BIS. “The culture surrounding postcards over there is not like what we have here. They spend a lot of money on it, whereas here no money is spent at all, and if it is, it’s just to send a simple postcard that says ‘Happy New Year’.”

He is currently negotiating to distribute these images in Germany. “It’s sad, but people value you more abroad than at home. If you want to do something, you have to go abroad.”

Zenborain likes to use Polaroid. Immediately after taking the photograph, while it is still wet, he distorts the images using engraving tools to achieve different effects. “I don’t like leaving photographs as they come out of the camera; I prefer trying to achieve strange special effects.”

Different techniques

In search of these special effects, he has used different techniques: “Starting with Polaroid distortion, continuing with drawings, and moving on to paintings and psychedelic slides. The psychedelic slides were something special. I have a friend who makes minimalist music, and I help him with the diaporamas. I project them, and in this way a unique atmosphere is created. It’s much easier than putting makeup on an actor.”

Natxo Zenborain is a defender of manipulation: “If you go to the mountains and take a good photo, but there are high‑voltage cables—what do you do? You remove those cables, you have no choice.”

Zenborain works mainly in color: “I don’t understand those who work only in black and white. It’s true that aesthetically you can get very good images, but when I wake up, I see the world in color, not in black and white.”

Computers

He has begun using technological advances: “Before, I made all the changes by hand because I didn’t have the financial means to work with expensive equipment, but these devices are wonderful. Before, to create an effect you needed lots of tests and many hours; now you take the computer and you can see how this or that will look in a moment.”

Until March 31st, the 60 postcardscreated by Natxo Zenborain will be exhibited at Donegal, on San Francisco Street in Pamplona.

Iruñea – Marcelo Díaz

DIARIO DE NOTICIAS – 14 June 1996Art

Zenborain: “Art improves the human condition”

NATXO ZENBORAIN

Venue:Horno de la Ciudadela

Work:Installation composed of 60 postcards, 12 oil paintings, 6 works combining photography and painting, 45 photographs, 3 television screens, a computer with several CD‑ROMs from around the world, and a set of false stained‑glass panels.

“In the world there exist as many bellybuttons as people,” Natxo Zenborain recalls. And he has made a point of taking his gaze away from his own to open his creative vision toward ever‑new horizons. Putting his life philosophy to the test, the Pamplona artist exhibits at the Horno de la Ciudadela an anthological installation made up of numerous works created over the last eleven years.

– In your artistic trajectory there seems to be an almost natural evolutionary process toward new technologies. How did your arrival to audiovisual language take place?

“I started like everyone else, with pencil and nib pens. The moment I lost my fear and discovered it wasn’t as difficult as I thought, I approached color. The truth is I’ve never limited myself. Different techniques become useful tools to develop different languages. I’m probably best known for my audiovisual productions, like the one I did in 1991 with a series of diaporamas in the piece Egunsenti Esperientzia, a show that combined dance (Government of Navarra’s Dance School), music (Txistu Department of the Pablo Sarasate Conservatory), and light and the projection of psychedelic images over the dancers’ bodies…”

– In the Horno you show psychedelic oils, distorted Polaroids, portraits, prefabricated television images… and in all of them aesthetic impact seems to prevail over symbolic considerations. Is there a hidden message? What is the thread connecting such diverse disciplines?

“I work in parts, so to speak. In the installation I’ve gathered a combination of different productions, independent from one another and created over long periods of time, bringing them closer to the three‑dimensional multimedia universe. What used to be engraving tools on paper is now distortion through a scanner on the computer. Becoming aware of the different techniques, materials, and forms that coexist today allows me to develop a plastic discourse that then communicates, more or less fluidly, with the viewer. The connecting thread of the exhibition is myself.I show what happens when different works come into connection, when they converge into a result that is always different from the sum of the parts.”

– For you, the observation of the external world seems as important as the artistic introspection that formal experimentation forces upon you.

“I isolate myself for periods with the materials I’m using at each moment. But I’m always open to new ideas. I never lack projects—if anything, I have too many. Art is a principle of observation of the world, real or imaginary, where elementary forms multiply and transform according to the creative capacity of each moment.In this case, I could have presented a wonderful series of charcoal portraits that surely would have satisfied the general public more, but it wouldn’t have been honest with myself. In art, as in friendship, you must learn to observe and to know in order to love.

Humanity has been on Earth for more than 2,000 years, yet we continue with the same nonsense: selfishness, frustration, violence… Art improves the condition of people, if one learns to look.”

URRECHO – Pamplona

Periódico : DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   14 - 6 - 1996

Arte

Zenborain : "El arte mejora la condición humana"

NATXO ZENBORAIN

Sala: Horno de la Ciudadela

Obra: instalación integrada por 60 postales 12 óleos, 6 obras que conjugan fotogrfía y pintura, 45 fotos, 3 pantallas de televisión, un ordenador con varios CD Room de todo el mundo y un montaje de falsas vidrieras

"En el mundo existen tantos ombligos como personas", recuerda Natxo Zenborain. Y él se ha empeñado en quitar la vista del suyo propio para abrir la mirada creadora hacia horizontes siempre nuevos. Poniendo a prueba su filosofía vital, el artista pamplonés expone en el Horno de la Ciudadela una instalación antológica, formada por multitud de obras realizadas en estos últimos 11 años.

-En su trayectoria artística se observa un proceso evolutivo casi natural hacia las nuevas tecnologías, ¿cómo se produjo su desembarco en el lenguaje audiovisual?

-Empecé como todo el mundo, con el lapicero y las plumillas. En el momento en que quité el miedo y descubrí que no es tan difícil como creía, abordé el color. Lo cierto es que nunca me he limitado. Las distintas técnicas se erigen en herramientas útiles para desarrollar diferentes lenguajes. Posiblemente, se me conozca más por los montajes audiovisuales, como el que realicé en 1991 con una serie de diaporamas en la obra Egunsenti Esperientzia, un espectáculo que combinaba la danza (Escuela de Danza del Gobierno de Navarra), la música (Aula de Txistu del Conservatorio Pablo Sarasate) y la luz y la proyección de imágenes psicodélicas sobre los cuerpos de los bailarines...

-Muestra en el Horno óleos psicodélicos, polaroids distorsionadas, retratos, imágenes televisivas prefabricadas... y en todas las obras prima el impacto estético sobre consideraciones más simbólicas. ¿Esconde algún mensaje cifrado, cuál es el hilo conductor que une disciplinas tan diversas?

-Trabajo por partes, por así decirlo. En la instalación he recogido la combinación de distintas producciones, independientes entre sí y dilatadas en el tiempo, acercándolas además al universo multimedia en tres dimensiones. Lo que antes era trabajo de buriles sobre el papel, ahora es distorsión mediante un escáner en el ordenador. La toma de conciencia de las distintas técnicas, materiales y formas que conviven en estos momentos me permite elaborar un discurso plástico que luego llega a comunicar, de forma más o menos fluida, con el espectador. El hilo conductor de la muestra soy yo mismo. Muestro lo que ocurre cuando entran en conexión distintos trabajos, cuando confluyen en un resultado, siempre distinto a la suma de las partes.

 -Para usted parece ser tan .importante la observación del mundo exterior como la introspección artística a la que le fuerza de algún modo la experimentación formal.

-Me encierro por temporadas con los materiales que utilizo en cada ocasión. Pero siempre estoy abierto a ideas nuevas. Nunca me faltan proyectos, más bien me sobran. El arte es un principio de observación del mundo, real o imaginario, donde las formas elementales se multiplican y transforman según la capacidad creativa de cada momento. En este caso podía haber presentado una serie maravillosa de retratos a carboncillo que, seguramente, habrían satisfecho más al común del público, pero no hubiese sido honesto conmigo mismo. En el arte ocurre lo mismo que en la amistad, hay que aprender a observar y a conocer para amar. La humanidad lleva más de 2.000 años sobre la Tierra, pero seguimos con las mismas tonterías: egoísmo, frustración, violencia... El arte mejora la condición de las personas, si se aprende a mirar.

1. URRECHO Pamplona

4 ESPACIOS – Catalogue Introduction (1–15 March 1991)by art critic Juan Zapater

HERE THE STORY DOESN’T END

This exhibition, accompanied by this text, inevitably—like almost all exhibitions—has two different readings depending on how much the viewer knows about the artist. The artist’s name is Natxo Zenborain, and he possesses a strange power, a virtue that makes him an inexhaustible seeker of experiences. He belongs to a rare—unfortunately rare—breed of incurable vitalists, people for whom it matters little what discipline they practice, what or whom their curiosity focuses on, or what they do for a living.

If in most cases the artist clarifies specific aspects of his work, in Natxo the opposite occurs: a flow of surprises opens up, speaking of him in many ways, with different voices, even though one must agree that they seem to emanate from the same place and the same era. This man once practiced the meritorious vocation of journalism, and decided that, given how society is conceived today, it was less boring to take refuge in that time when psychedelia opened a door of colors beyond whose threshold one perceived a world full of vertigo. Perhaps that is the only common denominator of all the experiences underlying what Natxo creates. There is movement, a sensation of weightlessness, an atmosphere of imprecise and blurred boundaries, a labyrinth of appearances—in short, pure play.

This attitude, which does not fit into any specific ism, finds its reflection in the disposition of this heterodox figure. Prolific and versatile, the works shown here are nothing more than an appetizer, a significant but incomplete sample of the universe that revolves around this man. Not in vain: from experimentation and repetition arises a crossroads that has the virtue of suggesting flashes of originality, a divertimento that ultimately reveals that the artist—and his enjoyment—comes first. That is why it is advisable to get to know this artist. Because he seems inexhaustible. But reaching that point is not a matter of emissaries or intermediaries. It is a matter of each person, and Natxo’s great merit lies in being capable of being one for many

JUAN ZAPATER

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Presentation of the Exhibition at the Palacio Vallesantoro – Sangüesa (11–23 March 1997)by critic Pedro Usanos

TIMELESS CONJUNCTION

If I had to describe Natxo Zenborain with a single word, it would be restlessness.

I use this word because, for me, Natxo’s work reflects his natural impulse to seek innovation across different artistic facets—whether plastic (sculpture, painting, photography), visual (diaporamas and computer‑processed images), or literary (self‑published fanzines and occasional journalistic ventures).

In all these activities he works with a clearly autodidactic spirit that avoids stagnation and routine, taking us through his images into a world of harmony and color, where our eyes and mind disconnect to immerse us in an atmosphere that carries us from the calm of his painting, to the optimism and provocation of his photography, to the intellectual restlessness of his virtual synthesis work. I believe this is a great opportunity to see an exhibition that will surely surpriseus.

PEDRO USANOS(on the occasion of the exhibition at Palacio Vallesantoro, Sangüesa)

Arte

4 ESPACIOS Introducción catálogo de la Exposición (del 1 al 15 de marzo, 1991.)

por el crítico de arte  JUAN ZAPATER

AQUÍ NO SE ACABA LA COSA

Esta exposición, a la que acompaña este escrito, inevitablemente y corno casi todas posee dos lecturas distintas según el grado de conocimiento que el espectador tenga del autor. El autor responde al nombre de Natxo Zemborain y posee un extraño poder, una virtud que lo convierte en un buscador inagotable de experiencias. Pertenece a una escasa - lamentablemente - raza de vitalistas empedernidos, gentes que en el fondo poco importa qué disciplina ejerzan, sobre qué o quienes se ciñe su curiosidad y de qué viven

Si en todos los casos el autor despeja aspectos concretos de su obra, en Natxo acontece justo lo contrario, se abre un caudal de sorpresas que hablan de él de muchas maneras, voces diferentes aunque haya que convenir en que parecen emanar del mismo lugar y la misma época. Este hombre ejerció alguna vez la meritoria vocación del periodismo, decidió que tal y como está concebida la sociedad actual, era menos aburrido solazarse con aquel tiempo en que la psicodelia abría una puerta de colores tras cuyo umbral se percibía un mundo lleno de vértigos. Tal vez sea ese el único común denominador de todas las experiencias que subyacen

en lo que Natxo crea. Hay movimiento, una sensación de ingravidez, una atmósfera de límites imprecisos y borrosos, laberinto de apariencias, en definitiva, puro juego.

Esa actitud que no se circunscribe a ningún "ismo" concreto, encuentra reflejo en la disposición de este sujeto heterodoxo. Prolíficos y versátiles los trabajos que aquí se muestran no son sino un aperitivo, una muestra significativa pero incompleta de ese universo que gira alrededor de este hombre. No en vano; del experimento y su repetición nace un cruce que tiene la virtud de sugerir destellos de originalidad, un divertimento que en el fondo se encarga de desvelar que el autor y su goce es lo primero. Por eso resulta aconsejable conocer a este autor. Porque parece inagotable. Pero llegar hasta allí no es cosa de emisarios ni intermediarios. Es cosa de cada uno y el buen mérito de Natxo estriba en que es capaz de ser uno para muchos

JUAN  ZAPATER

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PRESENTACION DE LA EXPOSICION EN EL PALACIO SANTORO- Sanguesa - Navarra

CONJUNCION ATEMPORAL

(del 11 al 23 de marzo, 1997.)

por el crítico PEDRO USANOS.

 Si tuviera que describir a Natxo Zenborain con una sola palabra, esta sería inquietud .

Si uso esta palabra es, porque para mi en la obra de Natxo queda plasmado su impulso natural de búsqueda de innovación en diferentes facetas artísticas, ya sean plásticas (escultura, pintura, fotografía), visuales (diaporamas y tratamiento de imágenes por ordenador) o literarias (publicación de fanzines unipersonales y algún escarceo periodístico.)

En todas estas actividades trabaja con claro espíritu autodidacta que rehuye el estancamiento y la rutina, haciéndonos viajar a través de sus imágenes, a un mundo de armonía y color, donde nuestra vista y cerebro desconectan para sumergirnos en una atmósfera, que nos lleva desde el reposo en su pintura, al optimismo y la provocación con la fotografía a la inquietud intelectual en su obra de síntesis virtual. Creo que se trata de una buena oportunidad de ver una exposición que nos va a "sorprender" , seguro.

PEDRO USANOS (con motivo de la exposición en el Palacio Vallesantoro - Sangüesa. del 11 al 23.marzo.1997).

Egin – Performance Plaza del Castillo 1997Zenborain will present his latest work in Iruñea

Art

Zenborain will present his latest work in Iruñea

The show he has prepared, playing with image and light, will take place on May 4.

Irene Airizurieta – Iruñea

Pamplona‑born artist Natxo Zenborain will present his latest work in Plaza del Castillo in Iruñea on May 4. Although until now his installations have been created in darkness, next month’s piece will take place in daylight and in an open space. As the artist explained, he will combine and mix image, music, photographs, and television images, among other elements. The show will run from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

At the performance‑party organized by Zenborain, he will display the photographic montages that remain after converting to positive the images he used in his psychedelic installations. Likewise, he will place silver‑colored female figures around the kiosk located in the center of Plaza del Castillo. Televisions will also be set up in the square to show psychedelic images.

Since it is an open exhibition, Zenborain has invited Luis Morea, Koldo Agarraberes, and Gomi Tartooto show their work. As the goal is to find an unusual place to create and display artworks, the organizers have also invited local residents to exhibit any artwork they have made.

Regarding virtual reality, image alterations and mixes created with the latest computer technologies will be presented. In this collection aimed at understanding art, theatre will also have the opportunity to step out into the street. Students from the Navarra Theatre School, following the images and decorations of the installation, intend to open pathways for imagination. As Zenborain explained, “on that day, any artist participating in the show will be able to express whatever they wish.”

Egin Performance  Plaza del Castillo 1997 2/ Zenborainek bere azken lana aurkeztuko du Iruñean

Arte

Zenborainek bere azken lana aurkeztuko du Iruñean

Irudia eta argiarekin jokatuz prestatu duen ikuskizuna maiatzaren 4ean izanen da

 Irene Airizurieta 7 Irunea

 NATXO ZENBORAIN iruindarrak bere azken lana aurkez­tuko du Iruneko Gaztelu Plazan datorren maiatzaren 4ean. Orain arteko muntaiak ilunpean egin izan baditu ere, heldu den hilabetekoa egun argiz eta toki irekian izanen da. Artistak azaldu duenez, besteak beste irudia, musika, argazkiak eta telebistako irudiak uztartu eta nahastuko ditu. Ikuskizunak goizeko 9:00tatik arratsaldeko 8:00ak arte iraunen du.

Zenborainek antolatu duen 'performance' festan psikodelia muntaiak egiten erabili dituen irudiak positibora pasatu ondoren geratu zaizkion argazki muntaiak erakutsi ditu. Era berean, Gazteluko Plazaren erdian dagoen kioskoaren inguruan zilar koloreko emakume irudiak paratuko ditu. Telebistak ere jarriko dituzte plazan irudi psikodelikoak ikusteko.

 Erakusketa irekia denez, Zen­borainek,  Luis   Morea.   Koldo Agarraberes  eta Gomi Tartoo gonbidatu   ditu   beren  lanak erakusteko.  Helburua  artelanak egiteko eta erakusteko ohikoa ez den tokia aurkitzea denez, antolatzaileak iruindarrak ere gonbidatu ditu egiten duten edozein artelan erakustera.

Errealitate  birtualari dagokionez, ordenagailu bidez az­ken teknologiekin egiten diren irudi aldaketak eta nahasketak aurkeztuko dira. Artea ulertzeko bilduma horretan antzerkiak ere izanen du kalera ateratzeko parada. Nafarroako Antzerki Eskolako ikasleek muntalaren irudi eta apainketak jarraituz, imaginazioari bideak zabaltzeko asmoa dute. Zenborainek azaldu duenez. •egun horretan ikuskizunean parte hartzen duen artista orok nahi duena adierazi ahal izango du« 

REVISTA KEZKA (Eibar – Gipuzkoa), 1997

Art

VIII IKUSENTZUNEZKOEN ASTEAIF PHOTOGRAPHY IS ART, AUDIOVISUALS ARE GASTRONOMY

Held from November 17 to 21, 1997

The Donostia‑born Javier de Juanesopened the sessions with an ethnographic work on autumn festivals in Gipuzkoa, a project carried out since 1979.

The ataundarra Ramon Agirrepresented a show about the way of life connected to the sea and the gazes directed toward it.

Javier Fernández, from Olaberria, showed the lands of Iceland, those landscapes where ice and fire merge.

Kepa González, the diaporama professional, demonstrated his mastery and managed to surprise us together with Antonio Irisarrithrough image fusions that mixed color with black and white. They were two 20‑minute stories, reflections of two lives through two viewers.

(Euskera – preserved exactly as written)

Edozein gai,edozein lekutan,edozein unetan...Ni, ni eta nireargazki‑kamara naizeta zerbait gehiagoeta askoz ere gehiagoEta besterik ez

On the last day, the Navarrese Natxo Zenborain, who offered us the recipe for audiovisual montage, demonstrated that in this era of technology and microprocessors applied to image, it is still possible to “work by hand,” chaining fades to ensure each montage is different.

Ikusentzunezkoak egiteko errezeta

(Euskera preserved exactly as written)

Hartu lapikoa: oinarrizko asmoak eta koloretako pintura guztiak bertara hota; poliki irabiatu, astiro; gero, marrazki batzuk eta nota musikal batzuk bota; azkenik, argazki‑kamerak.Lapikoa su motelaren gainean utzi, ikusentzunezkoaren irudiak eta musikaren zinta dakartzaten diapositiben kaxa txikiak azaldu arte. Natxo Zenborain. Irunea

REVISTA KEZKA (Eibar - Gipuzkoa) 1997 REVISTA KEZKA (Eibar - Gipuzkoa) 1997

Arte

VIII IKUSENTZUNEZKOEN ASTEA

SI LA FOTOGRAFIA ES ARTE, LOS AUDIOVISUALES SON GASTRONOMÍA

Celebrada del 17 al 21 de noviembre. 1997

El donostiarra Javier de Juanes inició las sesiones con un. trabajo etnográfico sobre las fiestas de otoño en Gipuzkoa, una labor llevada a cabo desde 1979.

El ataundarra Ramon Agirre reflejó un espectáculo sobre el modo de vida unido al mar y las miradas hacia él.

Javier Fernández, de Olaberria, mostró las tierras de Islandia, esos paisajes donde se funden el hielo y el fuego.

Kepa Gonzalez, el profesional de las diaporamas, demostró su saber hacer y consiguió que Antonio Irisarri nos sorprendiera en unas fusiones de imágenes, mezclando el color con el blanco y negro. Fueron dos historias de 20 minutos, reflejo de dos vidas a través de dos visores.

Edozein gai,

edozein lekutan,

edozein unetan...

Ni, ni eta nire

argazki-kamara naiz

eta zerbait gehiago

eta askoz ere gehiago

Eta besterik ez

  El último día, el navarro Natxo Zenborain que nos ofrece la receta del montaje audiovisual, demostró que en esta era de la tecnología y de los microprocesadores aplicados a la imagen, se puede “trabajar a mano”, encadenar fundidos para lograr que cada montaje sea diferente.

Ikusentzunezkoak egiteko errezeta

 Hartu lapikoa: oinarrizko asmoak eta koloretako pintura guztiak bertara hota; poliki irabiatu, astiro; gero, marrazki batzuk eta nota musikal batzuk bota; azkenik, argazki-kamerak.

 Lapikoa su motelaren gainean utzi, ikusentzunezkoaren irudiak eta musikaren zinta dakartzaten diapositiben kaxa txikiak azaldu arte. Natxo Zenborain. Irunea

DIARIO DE NOTICIAS – January 20, 1999Art

Natxo Zenborain exhibits 70 photocalcographies

The Descalzos Hall hosts the exhibition.

Pamplona photographer Natxo Zenborain inaugurated yesterday an exhibition of nearly 70 photocalcographies at the Descalzos Hall, in the Navarrese capital, with which, “a script could be written, because the illustrations are all here.”According to the artist, the seventy works aim to show an innovation in calcography. “I eliminate the raw strength of photography, the force of the colors, using some manual drawing or computer drawing.”The result represents “a car journey through the 20th century, which has a strong initiatory component and, like every journey, has a departure and a return.”

“Along the way I encounter and depict different buildings in the Old Quarter, such as the Town Hall or the Cathedral.”To create the work, Zenborain used a method of transferring a color image chemically onto cardboard. In addition, the result can be colored or processed using image‑editing software. “I used Adobe Photoshop. In general, the computer simplifies processes through filters to save time. But the fundamental thing is to start from a good photograph.”He added that “when peeling off the original photograph, if the drying time has been long, little threads appear—something that can now be done with computers, although these effects were achieved manually.”

The artist in his city

Zenborain, born in 1960, explained that “it’s been a long time since I presented anything in my city,”and he wanted “to create a kind of innovation,”because “I don’t like doing the same things all the time.”

Regarding this new work, he clarified that some of the images had already been created previously, and he mentioned as a future project “the production of a video with the same concept of the initiatory journey.”

Zenborain, who is currently participating in a collective painting exhibition on the Navarrese carnival at the Polvorín of the Ciudadela, has recently carried out other projects. Last November, at the Ángel Orensanz Foundation in New York, he presented an installation‑project. The artist stated that the Eighth Audiovisual Week of Eibar, in which he presented a work, has influenced his later production. “It is surprising that, due to the development of technology, so many things can be done with so few resources.”

The journey proposed by Natxo Zenborain

The journey proposed by Natxo Zenborain in his exhibition is made through a 20th‑century car, a ‘seiscientos’, and not only travels through recognizable places in the Navarrese capital, but visitors will also be able to see, as they climb the stairs, “strange buildings,”as well as the different states of mind of the people, before ending the journey with the images of “Nogsis”and “La Parca contemplating two lives.”He also highlighted that some of the works…

DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   20-1- 1999

Arte

Natxo Zenborain expone 70 fotocalcografías.

 La Sala de Descalzos acoge la muestra.

El fotógrafo pamplonés inauguró ayer una exposición de cerca de 70 fotocalcografías en la Sala de Descalzos, en la capital navarra, con las cuales,"se podría escribir un guión, porque aquí están las ilustraciones". Las setenta obras, según el autor, pretenden mostrar una innovación en la calcografía."Elimino la fuerza de la fotografía en bruto, la fuerza de los colores, utilizando algo de dibujo manual o por ordenador". El resultado representa "un viajé en coche por el siglo XX, que tiene mucho de iniciático y que, como todo viaje, tiene ida y vuelta."

 "En el trayecto encuentro y plasmó distintos edificios del casco Viejo como el Ayuntamiento ó la Catedral". Para la elaboración del trabajo, Zenborain  ha utilizado el método de traspasar una imagen de color mediante química sobre una cartulina. Además, existe la posibilidad de colorear el resultado o de  utilizar programas de tratamiento de imagen."he empleado el Adobe photoshop. En general, el ordenador simplifica los procesos a través de los filtros para ahorrar tiempo. “Pero lo fundamental es partir de una buena fotografía". En este sentido, agregó que "al despegar la fotografía original, si el secado ha durado bastante tiempo se producen hilitos, algo que señaló ahora se puede hacer con ordenadores aunque sus efectos han sido conseguidos manualmente.

El autor en su ciudad

 Zenborain, nacido en 1960, explicó que "hace ya mucho que no presentaba nada en mi ciudad" y he querido "hacer una especie de innovación" porque "no me gusta hacer las mismas cosas siempre".

Acerca de este nuevo trabajo, aclaró que algunas de las imágenes de ya las había realizado anteriormente y apuntó como proyecto "la elaboración de un video con el mismo argumento del viaje iniciático".

Zenborain, que en este momento participa en una exposición colectiva de pintura sobre el carnaval navarro en el Polvorín de la Ciudadela, ha protagonizado otros proyecto recientemente. Durante el pasado mes de noviembre, y en la fundación Angel Orensanz de Nueva York presento un proyecto-instalación. El autor, manifestó la influencia que la Octava Semana de Audiovisuales de Eibar, en la que presentó un trabajo, ha tenido en su producción posterior. "Es sorprendente que, debido al desarrollo de la técnica, se puedan hacer tantas cosas con tan pocos medios".

El viaje que propone Nacho Zenborain en su muestra es a través de un coche del siglo XX, Un seiscientos", y no sólo recorre lugares reconocibles de la capital navarra sino que el visitante podrá contemplar al subir las escaleras que "extraños edificios", así como los diferentes estados de ánimo de las personas que antes de terminar el viaje con las imágenes de "Nogsis" y "la Parca contemplando dos vidas". Además, destacó que algunas de las obras que se

GARA – January 20, 1999

Art

Natxo Zenborain returns to Iruñea with “Photocalcographies”

After several years without exhibiting in Iruñea, Natxo Zenborain returns to his hometown with “Photocalcographies”, which the artist describes as a series of images taken from reality but with a velvety appearance. The 70 works that make up the exhibition can be seen until February 14 at Descalzos.

For Zenborain, “Photocalcographies”is a narrative, a story in which only the illustrations are presented so that each viewer may draw their own conclusions. As in previous presentations by the artist, the exhibition follows the maxim that “there are as many bellybuttons in the world as there are people,”a phrase by Zenborain himself that aims to highlight the multiplicity of individualities and reactions to the same artistic stimulus.

Innovative in its approach, the exhibition adopts the form of an “initiatory journey”, descriptive mostly of the hidden details of the Old Quarter of Iruñea, Alde Zaharra, where the artist resides. An old 600, which appears in the first image of the route, carries the viewer from one point to another, placing them as privileged witnesses to fractured, deformed, solarized, and frayed images created from real elements.

Columns, capitals, statues, animals, everyday objects, and people are the targets of the camera. Photographs dominate, although drawings also hang on the walls of the municipal hall in Descalzos. Both photographs and drawings undergo manual or digital alteration in their transfer to the cardboard that serves as the base of the exhibition. Zenborain’s intention with this treatment is to eliminate “the raw strength of photography, the intensity of its colors”to achieve what he himself calls “velvety”images.

The exhibition, which can be seen in Iruñea until February 14, follows Zenborain’s recent participation in the Audiovisual Arts Week of Eibar, with a series of diaporamas and sound, and his presentation at an international installation competition in New York, where his project was exhibited until last December 15. The artist from Iruñea characterizes himself by his continuous interest in innovating within his own work, a conviction that has now led him to calcography.

Although he had previously experimented with these techniques, the current exhibition is also new for venturing into color images, perhaps temporarily abandoning the black‑and‑white with which he began his calcography work. Playing with exposure times allows for a multiplicity of effects and alterations of colors and their contours.

Periódico: GARA

20-1-1999

Arte

Natxo Zenborain regresa a Iruñea con “Fotocalcografias”

Después de varios años sin exponer en  Iruñea, Natxo Zenborain vuelve a su ciudad natal de la mano  de “Fotocalcografías”, en palabras del autor, una serie de imágenes tomadas de la realidad pero con apariencia de terciopelo. Los 70 trabajos que la completan se pueden ver hasta el 14 de febrero en Descalzos.

Para Zenborain, “Focalcografías” es un relato, un cuento del que sólo se presentan las ilustraciones para que cada espectador saque sus propias conclusiones. Sigue, como anteriores presentaciones de éste  autor, la máxima de que "en el mundo existen tantos ombligos como personas", sentencia del propio Zenborain que pretende evidenciar la multiplicidad de individualidades y reacciones ante un mismo estímulo artístico.

Innovadora en maneras, la exposición adopta la forma de un "viaje iniciático" descriptivo en su mayor parte de los detalles ocultos del barrio irundarra en el que reside, Alde Zaharra. Un antiguo 600, el aparece en la primera de las imágenes del recorrido, lleva de un punto a otro al espectador, a quien se le coloca como testigo de lujo de imágenes fracturadas, deformadas, solarizadas y deshilachadas a partir de elementos reales.

Columnas, capiteles, estatuas, animales, objetos más cotidianos y personas son el objetivo de la cámara fotográfica. Las fotos dominan, aunque también cuelgan dibujos de las paredes de la sala municipa de Descalzos. Unas y otros son objeto de alteración manual o mediante el ordenador en su paso a cartulina que le sirve de base en la muestra. La idea pretendida por Zenborain con este tratamiento es la de eliminar "la fuerza de la fotografía en bruto, la intensidad de sus colores" para conseguir lo que él mismo denomina "aterciopelados".

La exposición que se puede ver en Iruñea hasta el 14 de febrero sigue a la reciente participación de Zenborain  en la semana de artes audiovisuales de Eibar, con una serie de diaporamas y sonido, y a su presentación en un concurso internacional de instalaciones en Nueva York, donde su proyecto se expuso hasta el pasado 15 de diciembre. El autor irundarra se autocaracteriza por su interés en innovar continuamente dentro de su propia obra, una convicción que ahora le ha llevado a las calcografías.

Si bien ya había antes experimentado en estas técnicas, la actual muestra resulta tan bien novedosa por adentrarse en las imágenes en color, abandonando quizá de forma eventual el blanco y negro con el que se inició en las calcografías. El juego con los tiempos permite una multiplicidad de efectos y alteraciones de los colores y sus contornos.

ARTYCO (Art and Communication Magazine)No. 3 – Winter 1999

Art

NATXO ZENBORAIN IN IMAGES

Probably one of the most unusual exhibitions due to the techniques used, the thematic variety, and the striking final finish, has been the show Zenborain presents from January 19 to February 14 in the exhibition hall of the Patio de los Gigantes.

Organized in series, Natxo’s works —created using calcography, photography, and digital manipulation— represent, in some cases, a colorful and expressive exploration of corners of the city of Pamplona and some of its characters; in others, an introspective and critical look at different concepts.

ARTYCO (Revista de arte y comunicación)

N\ 3 Invierno 1999.

Arte

NATXO ZENBORAIN EN IMÁGENES

Probablemente una de las exposiciones más insólitas por las técnicas empleadas, la variedad temática y el rotundo acabado final, ha sido la muestra que Zenborain mantiene del 19 de enero al 14 de febrero en la sala de exposiciones del Patio de los Gigantes.

Distribuidas en series, las obras de Natxo, en cuya elaboración se ha servido de la calcografía, la fotografía y la manipulación informática suponen, en algunos casos, una incursión colorista y expresiva por rincones de la ciudad de Pamplona y por algunos de sus personajes, en otros una mirada introspectiva y crítica sobre diferentes conceptos.

Diario de Noticias — Monday, December 17, 2001

Artist Natxo Zenborain receives the 5th “Lorenzo Magnifico” Award at the Florence Biennale

Marcos Iriarte – Pamplona

Navarrese artist Natxo Zenborain has been awarded the 5th Lorenzo MagnificoPrize at the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art. “I think it’s not bad at all,” Zenborain said after receiving the award, noting that more than 600 artists competed in the same category. He received an official diploma signed by seven internationally renowned art critics: Veronika Birke (Austria), Stefano Francolini (Italy), Teresa Ortega Coca (Spain), Matty Roca (Mexico), Barbara Rose (USA), David Rubin (USA), and John T. Spike (USA). In addition, Zenborain received a medal along with the diploma certifying him as the recipient of the 5th Lorenzo MagnificoPrize.

Zenborain, who attended the gala dinner after the awards ceremony, said he felt happy and moved upon receiving the prestigious distinction: “During the dinner, people congratulated me in several languages.” The Pamplona‑born artist was the only Navarrese participant in this year’s Florence Biennale. The edition began on December 7 and was closed yesterday in Florence.

At his Biennale stand, Zenborain —a multifaceted painter, sculptor, and photographer— presented several photocalcographies, slides from a manually produced diaporama, and a CD‑ROM reviewing the most significant works of his career. According to the artist, these are “interrelated but independent works.”

“My work moves away from reality because what I do is a manipulation of that reality,” Zenborain states, noting that he has always sought singularity in his compositions. He was selected to participate in the Biennale through the Ángel Orensanz Foundation in New York, after sending them an installation based on the mosaic of the Museum of Navarra. This same installation, which opened the doors of the Biennale for him, had remained forgotten in the Museum of Navarra until Zenborain sent it to New York, where it was warmly received.

For this reason, the artist feels somewhat resentful toward Navarrese institutions. “In this community, an artist has to believe strongly in their work to keep going, because support for local artists is almost nonexistent,” Zenborain said. He also stated that Pamplona is “a dull and boring city culturally.” Those interested will be able to learn more about his work at the exhibition opening on December 19 at the Maisonnave Hotel in Pamplona.

Diario de Noticias          lunes 17 de diciembre 2001

El artista Natxo Zenborain recibe el V premio 'Lorenzo Magnífico' en la Bienal de Florencia

MARCOS IRIARTE- Pamplona

El artista navarro Natxo Zemborain ha sido galardonado con el V premio Lorenzo Magnífico en la Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Florencia. “Creo que no está nada mal”, afirmó Zemborain tras recibir el premio, ya que en la misma categoría competían más de 600 artistas. El artista navarro recibió un diploma acreditativo firmado por siete críticos de arte de renombre internacional. Veronika Birke (Austria), Stefano Francolini (Italia), Teresa Ortega Coca (España), Matty Roca (México), Barbara Rose (USA), David Rubin (USA) y John T. Spike (USA). Además, Zemborain recibió una medalla junto al diploma que le acredita como poseedor del V premio Lorenzo Magnífico.

Zemborain que acudió a la cena de la gala después de la entrega de premios aseguró sentirse contento y emocionado al recibir el prestigioso galardón: “Durante la cena, la gente me felicitaba en varios idiomas”. El artista pamplonés fue el único navarro que ha participado en la Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo de Florencia de este año. La presente edición se inició el pasado día 7 de diciembre y ayer fue clausurada en Florencia. En su stand de la Bienal, Zemborain, polifacético pintor, escultor y fotógrafo pamplonés, ha presentado con un soporte digital varias fotocalcografías, diapositivas de un diaporama manual y un CD Rom en el que se repasan las obras más significativas de su trayectoria. Según explicó el propio autor, se trata de “obras interrelacionadas pero independientes entre sí”.

“Mi obra se aleja de la realidad porque lo que yo hago es una manipulación de esa realidad”, afirma Zemborain quien siempre se ha caracterizado por buscar en sus composiciones las singularidad. El artista pamplonés fue seleccionado para participar en la Bienal de Arte de Florencia a través de la Fundación Ángel Orensanz de Nueva York cuando envió a ésta una instalación basada en el mosaico del Museo de Navarra. Esta misma instalación que le abrió las puertas de la Bienal había permanecido en el olvido en el Museo de Navarra hasta que el propio Zemborain la enviara a Nueva York, donde tuvo gran acogida.

Por este motivo el artista navarro se siente un poco resentido con las instituciones forales. “En esta comunidad el artista tiene que creer mucho en su obra para seguir trabajando porque el apoyo a los artistas locales es casi nulo., aseguró Natxo Zemborain. Además el polifacético artista aseguró que Pamplona es “una ciudad anodina y aburrida a nivel cultural”. Quienes lo deseen podrán conocer más a fondo la obra de Natxo Zemborain en la exposición del artista que se inaugurará el próximo 19 de diciembre en el hotel Maissonave de Pamplona.

GARA – CULTURE · 2001 December 24, Monday

INTERVIEW · Natxo Zenborain – Artist

“I like to manipulate the objects around me and create dreamlike worlds”

December has been an especially rewarding month for Natxo Zenborain. The artist from Iruñea received the Lorenzo il Magnificoaward at the Florence Biennale on the 16th, and on the 19th, just after landing back in Iruñea, he inaugurated an exhibition of fifteen photocalcographies and “photo‑psycho” works at the Maisonnave Hotel’s photo‑gallery. With them, he hopes to surprise viewers and repeat at home the success he achieved in Italy.

Invited for the first time to the famous Florence Biennale —a meeting point for artists from around the world— Zenborain concluded his debut in Italy on December 17 with one of the Biennale’s prestigious awards in his suitcase: the Lorenzo il Magnifico, named after one of the most renowned Medici patrons. The award, granted by seven internationally recognized art critics, singled him out among more than 600 participating artists.

The day after his return, on the 19th, he opened an exhibition of unconventional photographs at the Maisonnave, where his brand‑new Lorenzo now hangs between one installation and the next.

Asked how he feels, he replies: “Tired and trying to get my feet back on the ground, to see if I can figure out what I’ve done.”

Under the title Psycho‑art, the exhibition brings together fifteen works, a mix of image and painting, with which he hopes to surprise the public, just as he did with the critics in Florence. “I’ve gathered what I call photocalcographies, which have a much softer texture than the intense colors I use in my usual photographs, giving them a velvety, very smooth quality. But no one should expect a politically correct photography exhibition,” he notes.

Art critic Pedro Salaberri puts into words the sensations Natxo’s work conveys: “It’s clear that the world is a spectacle, at least seen through the eyes of Natxo Zenborain. Everything around us is susceptible to being transformed. When Natxo looks at anything nearby, he transforms it automatically; he refuses to accept it as it appears and decides to change it. Partly because he wants to have fun, and also because altering the appearance of things is a creative way of making them his own, and a way of fighting the laziness and routine that sometimes prevent us from discovering and enjoying what we have close at hand. In any case, it is certain that the world he now presents to us will change again as soon as he has the slightest opportunity.”

Restlessness elevated to art

Parallel to his need to transform reality is his curiosity to experiment with the possibilities offered by different artistic disciplines: photography, painting, drawing on canvas or murals, installations, performances, audiovisuals. “I’m never still. I like to keep manipulating the objects around me, because doing the same thing all the time would bore me.”

In his hands, that manipulation becomes an invitation to other worlds: “The reality I create translates into dreamlike worlds, where I introduce landscapes, backgrounds, and forms that have nothing to do with human ones. They are like my own microcosm, the result of my paintings and photographs. I give reality a completely different approach.”

The photographs exhibited at the Maisonnave move within the realm of psychedelia, a world that has fascinated him for a long time. “Art, as I understand it, cannot be limited by anything or anyone; that’s why I experiment constantly. In art you cannot draw a circle and refuse to leave it. It is a constant investigation from which new activities emerge.”

This ongoing research aims to achieve a result “that impacts the viewer, that forces them to stop and think, to look at what surrounds the photographs.”

However, provocation is not his goal: “Provocation for the sake of provocation has always seemed quite stupid to me. A simplistic provocation may attract attention, but it doesn’t convince me. Since I have another kind of aesthetic and can offer another kind of image, I don’t need that simple provocation that appears in many modern exhibitions. With all due respect, my work is more laborious to achieve a result.”

Idoia Arozena

 GARA – CULTURA  2001 Abendua – 24 Astelehena       (I

ENTREVISTA Natxo ZENBORAIN – Artista

«Me gusta manipular los objetos de alrededor y crear mundos oníricos»

 Diciembre ha sido un mes especialmente gratificante para Natxo Zenborain. El artista iruindarra fue premiado el 16 con el premio Lorenzo el Magnífico de la Bienal de Florencia, y el 19, nada más aterrizar en Iruñea, inauguró una exposición de quince fotocalcografías y foto-psico en la Foto-galería del hotel Maisonnave. Con ellas espera sorprender al espectador y repetir en casa el éxito obtenido en Italia. Diciembre ha sido un mes especialmente activo y enriquecedor para el polifacético artista navarro Natxo Zenborain. Invitado por primera vez a la famosa Bienal de Florencia, conocida por ser punto de encuentro y reunión de artistas de todo el mundo, el pasado 17 de diciembre Natxo Zenborain culminaba su estreno en Italia con uno de los prestigiosos galardones de la Bienal en la maleta, el premio Lorenzo el Magnífico ­en honor a uno de los más famosos Medici de la mítica saga de mecenas ­. El galardón, concedido por 7 críticos de arte de renombre internacional, lo destaca entre los más de 600 artistas que participaron en la Bienal, lo que siempre es motivo de satisfacción y de orgullo.

Al día siguiente de su regreso, el 19, Natxo Zenborain inauguró una exposición de fotografías nada convencionales en el hotel Maisonnave, donde ahora, entre montaje y montaje, también cuelga su flamante Lorenzo.

Tal vez por ello, a la pregunta de cómo se siente, el artista responde que «cansado y tratando de tomar tierra, haber si me aclaro qué es lo que he hecho».

Bajo el título de "Psico-art", la exposición reúne una muestra de quince trabajos, mezcla de imagen y de pintura, con los que espera sorprender al público, tal y como lo consiguió con los críticos de Florencia, con notable éxito además. «He reunido lo que yo llamo fotocalcografías, que tienen una textura mucho más suave que los colores intensos que utilizo en las fotografías normales, y les da una especie de matiz aterciopelado, de gran suavidad. Pero que nadie espere una exposición de fotografías políticamente correctas», matiza.

El crítico de arte Pedro Salaberri es quien pone en palabras las múltiples sensaciones que Natxo trasmite con su obra. «Está claro que el mundo es un espectáculo, por lo menos, visto con los ojos de Nacho Zenborain. Todo lo que tenemos alrededor es susceptible de ser modificado. Me parece que cuando Natxo mira cualquier cosa que tiene cerca está transformándola de manera automática, se niega a aceptar aquello como se ve y decide cambiarlo. En parte, porque quiera divertirse, y, también, porque modificar el aspecto de las cosas es una forma creativa de apropiárselas, y una manera de combatir la pereza y la rutina que, a veces, nos impiden descubrir y disfrutar lo que tenemos cerca. En todo caso, es seguro que el mundo que ahora nos propone va a cambiar de nuevo en cuanto tenga la más mínima oportunidad»

La inquietud elevada al arte

Paralela a su necesidad de transformar la realidad que le rodea, se encuentra su curiosidad por experimentar con las posibilidades que ofrecen las diferentes disciplinas artísticas, lo que hace que Natxo Zenborain pueda conjugar fotografía con pintura, dibujar tanto en lienzos como en murales, hacer instalaciones, protagonizar performances o montar audiovisuales. «Nunca estoy quieto ­señala­. Me gusta seguir manipulando los objetos que tengo alrededor, porque hacer siempre lo mismo me aburriría mucho».

En sus manos, esa manipulación de las imágenes cotidianas se transforma en una invitación a conocer otros mundos. «La realidad que hago se traduce en mundos oníricos, donde introduzco paisajes, fondos y formas que no tienen nada que ver con las humanas. Son como mi propio microcosmos, porque son fruto de mis pinturas y de mis fotografías. Doy un enfoque totalmente diferente a la realidad».

Las fotografías expuestas en el Maisonnave se mueven por los derroteros de la psicodelia, un mundo que le fascina desde hace tiempo. «El arte, como yo lo entiendo, no puede estar limitado por nada ni por nadie, por eso experimento continuamente. En el arte no se puede hacer un círculo y de aquí no se sale. Es una constante investigación, de la que salen nuevas actividades».

Esa constante investigación tiene como fin buscar un resultado «que impacte en el espectador, que lo obligue a detenerse y pensar, a ver los alrededores de las fotografías».

Sin embargo, lo suyo no es la provocación. «La provocación por la provocación siempre me ha parecido bastante estúpida ­manifiesta­. Una provocación simplona puede llamar la atención, pero no me convence. Ya que tengo otro tipo de estética y puedo dar otro tipo de imagen, no necesito esa provocación simple que aflora en muchas exposiciones modernas. Con todos mis respetos, pero mi trabajo es un trabajo más laborioso para llegar a un resultado». *

Idoia AROZENA

Technical Report from the Department of Culture of the Pamplona City Councilby J. Manzanos

When an artist occupies a public space in a city, they need the corresponding permits from the City Council and must coordinate with other departments such as Citizen Protection.

Below you can read the report on Natxo Zenborain, written by Mr. Javier Manzanos, Technician in Visual Arts of the Department of Culture of the Pamplona City Council, to obtain the required permits.

SUBJECT: PROPOSAL FOR AN ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE BY THE ARTIST NATXO ZENBORAIN IN THE PASAJE DE SEMINARIO

REPORT:

Received the project submitted by Natxo Zenborain to carry out the

Artistic Performance: “Awakening the City”in the space of the Pasaje de Seminario, a copy of which is attached, I proceed to report on the cultural and artistic interest of this initiative:

On the one hand, Natxo Zenborain is an artist from Pamplona, born in 1960, whose artistic work has been shown in the municipal exhibition halls of Horno de la Ciudadelaand Descalzos 72, as well as earlier this year at the Museum of Navarra. He recently participated in the Florence Biennale, where he was awarded.

Natxo Zenborain’s artistic experience —which includes painting, sculpture, and above all photography and audiovisual work— also encompasses the creation of visual arts workshops for children(such as the experience carried out in Zizur), happenings, and performances: multidisciplinary artistic expressions (visual arts, workshops, music, body expression…) presented as punctual and ephemeral actions in open public spaces (such as the experience carried out in Plaza del Castilloin Pamplona).

The project, which includes the exhibition of the artist’s work and the organization of children’s workshopsin visual arts and multimedia, as well as two musical performances, proposes the use of a little‑frequented space —the Pasaje de Seminario, next to Pamplona City Hall— and its recovery as a place for culture and citizen creativity between June 11 and 16. These dates are especially suitable, as they anticipate the festive atmosphere that the city begins to adopt as the San Fermíncelebrations approach.

To all this is added the involvement that the artist Natxo Zenborain has secured from various entities, which would collaborate to make the project possible.

The collaborating and sponsoring entities would be:

• Department of Culture of the Pamplona City Council

• Caja Laboral

• Association of Old Town Businesses

• BEEP Informática

• Color Digital

• Krabelin

For all the reasons stated above, for the Department of Culture of the Pamplona City Council, the proposal submitted by the artist Natxo Zenborain is of great interest for the promotion, dissemination, and artistic creationin the city.

Informe técnico del Area de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Pamplona por J.Manzanos

Cuando un artista ocupa un espacio público de una ciudad necesita los permisos de su Ayuntamiento y coordinar otros departamentos como Protección Ciudadana:

A continuación podrás leer el informe sobre Natxo Zenborain, redactado por el Sr Javier Manzanos,  Técnico en Artes Plásticas del Departamento de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Pamplona para obtener los permisos correspondientes.

ASUNTO: PROPUESTA DE PERFORMANCE ARTÍSTICA DEL AUTOR NATXO ZENBORAIN EN EL PASAJE DE SEMINARIO

INFORME:

• Recibido el proyecto presentado por Natxo Zenborain para realizar el

Performance artístico: “Despertando a la ciudad” en el espacio del Pasaje de Seminario y

del cual se adjunta copia, paso a informar del interés cultural y artístico de dicha

iniciativa:

Por un lado. Natxo Zenborain es un artista pamplonés nacido en 1960 y cuyos trabajos artísticos han sido mostrados en las salas municipales del Horno de la Ciudadela y de Descalzos 72, así como este mismo año en el Museo de Navarra. Recientemente participó en la Bienal de Florencia. donde fue premiado.

La experiencia artística de Natxo Zenborain, que cultiva modalidades pictóricas, escultóricas y sobre todo fotográficas y audiovisuales abarca también la realización de talleres de artes plásticas con niños (como la experiencia realizada en Zizur). happenings y performances: manifestaciones artísticas multidisciplinares (artes plásticas, talleres, música, expresión corporal...) puntuales y efímeras realizadas en espacios ciudadanos abiertos (como lo fue la experiencia realizada en la Plaza del Castillo de Pamplona)

El proyecto, que abarca la exposición de trabajos del autor y la realización de talleres infantiles de artes plásticas y multimedias, así como dos actuaciones musicales, propone la utilización de un espacio poco transitado, como es el Pasaje de Seminario, junto al Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, y su recuperación como espacio para la cultura y la creatividad ciudadana entre los días 11 y 16 de junio. Fechas especialmente adecuadas por adelantar el aspecto festivo que la ciudad irá adquiriendo al acercarse las fechas de San Fermín.

A todo ello se une la implicación. que el autor Natxo Zenborain ha conseguido, que diferentes entidades tomarían en el proyecto, colaborando para hacer efectiva su producción. Las entidades colaboradoras y patrocinadoras serían:

Área de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Pamplona

Caja Laboral

Asociación de Comercios del Casco Antiguo

BEEP Informática

Color Digital

Krabelin

 Por todo lo expuesto, para el Área de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Pamplona. la propuesta remitida por el artista Natxo Zenborain es de gran interés para la difusión, promoción y creación artística de la ciudad.