Exhibitions
Eva Lootz: Matter as Poetry
The Kunsthaus Baselland in Münchenstein (Basel) is dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the Spanish-Austrian artist Eva Lootz (Vienna, 1940), a key figure in contemporary Spanish art. The exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, encompasses a comprehensive overview of her career, from her early works in the 1960s to recent creations, including works conceived specifically for this space.
Known for her experimentation with unconventional materials and her reflection on language, perception, and memory, Lootz invites visitors to immerse themselves in a sensorial and critical approach that engages with the present. Her work, interwoven with ecological, philosophical, and social concerns, is characterized by its capacity to question the visible and the invisible, the solid and the ephemeral.
Eva Lootz, Salary, 2004. Courtesy the artist. Ausstellungsansicht Kunsthaus Baselland 2025. Photo: Finn Curry.
The exhibition will be on view from September 26, 2025, to January 25, 2026, at the Kunsthaus Baselland, one of the region's most dynamic centers for contemporary art. With this exhibition, the institution strengthens its role as a bridge between the international art scene and the Swiss public, offering the opportunity to discover—or revisit—the work of one of the most unique artists on the European scene.
The work of Eva Lootz (Vienna, 1940), an artist who has lived in Spain since the late 1960s, unfolds as a territory in which matter speaks, remembers, and questions. Her career, marked by experimentation with materials unusual in art—such as salt, sand, water, tar, lead, and bitumen—transforms each element into a vehicle of memory and meaning. In her hands, even the hardest substances acquire a soft and poetic finish, without losing the imprint of their origin and the extraction processes that shape them.
Eva Lootz, Nudos Series, 2011. Courtesy the artist. Ausstellungsansicht Kunsthaus Baselland 2025. Photo: Finn Curry.
Far from being a simple formal resource, the material in Lootz embodies a critical approach that addresses central issues of our time: the exploitation of natural resources, the relationship between humans and the environment, and the fragility of the visible and the invisible. Thus, his works open up a reflection that combines aesthetic sensitivity and social awareness.
Curated by Inés Goldbach and Fernando López (Reina Sofía Museum), the exhibition gains relevance through the artist's use of materials. These emphasize a soft and poetic quality, even when dealing with elements as powerful as marble or bitumen, and at the same time refer to the source of their extraction: salt, sand, water, or stone. The exhibition brings together a wide range of formats, including drawings, sculptures, videos, photographs, mural paintings, and interventions created specifically for the space.
