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URBO JuanOyarbide

Art Exhibition at St Ethelburga - London

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

Introduction

URBO - Urban Bodies - An art exhibition about the intricate connections between the anatomical and cultural identities of the human bodies within the contemporary urban environment.

Juan Oyarbide's inaugural solo exhibition as a painter, titled Urban Bodies ( URBO), showcases a captivating collection of 20 art pieces crafted between 2012 and 2022. This comprehensive display encompasses a diverse range of artworks, spanning from intricate pencil drawings to expansive murals. Notably, among these exhibits is a remarkable 6x7m canvas piece portraying the URBO mural.

The central theme explored throughout URBO revolves around the interplay between human nature and the urban landscape. The project delves into the intricate connections between anatomical and cultural aspects of the human body, considering how these elements manifest within the cityscape, which has become our new natural environment.

To enhance the viewer's experience, the exhibition incorporates audiovisual content, presenting the studies and sketches that have played a pivotal role in Oyarbide's artistic process during this pictorial journey.

URBO comes to life in London first, aiming to then travel to Athens and San Sebastian. These three distinct cities, each situated in different countries with unique cultural landscapes, form the cornerstone of this creation. The vibrant and diverse art scene in London, the blend of Mediterranean mythology and painting in Athens, and the rich artistic tradition of Basque and Spanish art found in San Sebastian, all converge to shape the essence of URBO. It is within this fundamental triangle that the creative vision of Juan Oyarbide flourished, drawing inspiration from these multifaceted cultural and artistic backgrounds.

A pictoral journey through urban nature

URBO embarks on a pictorial odyssey that commenced in 2012, delving deep into the human experience during a pivotal historical era where urban environments have become the natural habitat for over half of the global population.

This project ventures to explore the boundaries of painting on an architectural scale, as the artwork gazes out onto the city’s precipice. The core theme of the exhibition is the human struggles symptomatic of life in an urban metropolis like London. It addresses issues such as stress, loneliness, alienation, inequality, indifference, discrimination, hatred, and violence— conditions that foster distance and division among city residents.

The primary objective of this catalogue and collection of artworks is to use art as a medium to highlight and bridge these conflicts, fostering a sense of dialogue, cooperation, and reconciliation within our urban communities. The creative concept behind this exhibition is rooted in a critical and reflective response to the aforementioned human conditions. Each piece of art aims to evoke a deeper understanding and empathy among viewers, encouraging them to embrace and celebrate the differences that define us as individuals.

In URBO, anatomical variations serve as conduits for expressing the human condition. Fictional evolutionary lines weave tales of human adaptation to the urban environment, akin to the narratives crafted by paleoanthropology through fossil evidence. As scenes and characters take shape, they converge into the final set of paintings and drawings of this art collection.

URBO takes inspiration from the narrative behind historical group paintings, particularly the two main frescos at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, locating itself in the narrative void between the genesis and the final judgment.

It is within this gap that Michelangelo’s monumental, contorted bodies depicted in the Sistine Chapel provide inspiration for reevaluating the scale, proportion, and distortion of the human figure in the earthy context of our cities. Within the URBO composition, a multitude of narratives are constructed, each fragmentary and reflective of the fragmented reality we currently inhabit, as well as the profound struggle for a global story of our times.

Exhibitions

London 2025

The project takes the form of a public art exhibition located at the heart of the City of London, designed to be accessible to all with free entry. This exhibition will showcase a diverse collection of paintings of various scales, inviting the public to engage with and explore their relationship with the city, their perceptions of human anatomy, and to become integral to the creative energy of London. We seek to gather feedback from visitors on both the artwork and their overall experience. Situated at 78 Bishopsgate in the heart of the City of London, St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace stands as a symbol of harmony and understanding.

St Ethelburga was originally erected in 1250 A.D., the church miraculously survived both the devastating Great Fire of 1666 and the bombings of the 1940s. However, tragedy struck in 1993 when an IRA bomb nearly razed the church to the ground. In response to this act of destruction, a charitable initiative was established to raise funds for the church's reconstruction, with a renewed vision of serving as a haven for reconciliation and peace. In 2006, the doors of the reconstructed church were opened, offering solace and tranquility to all who enter.

The majestic Nave, adorned with soaring ceilings, original arches, and a captivating stained glass window, provides an exquisite setting for a variety of events. Whether hosting art exhibitions or other gatherings, the Nave's rich history and evocative ambiance create a truly enchanting atmosphere that captivates all who step inside.

Athens and San Sebastian

Following the exhibition in London, the collection will visit Athens and San Sebastian. These three distinct cities with unique cultural landscapes, formed the point of departure of the artistic explorations and stand as the proposed locations of the travelling exhibition. The vibrant and diverse art scene of London, the blend of Mediterranean mythology provide by Greece, and the rich artistic tradition of the Spanish and Basque art - all converge to shape what constitutes the ‘Urban Bodies’

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

Composition

Pencil on Paper / 40 x 32 cms / 2012

The first complete composition of Urban Bodies executed as a pencil sketch on paper that explores dialogue between the three dimensional depth of the human bodies and the city.

Daylight Souls in the Urban Garden

Oil on canvas / 120 x 160 cms / 2022

Evolution of Pinks digital works that served as the skecthe for this later oil paiting. Daylight Souul in the Urban Garden brings an extended diversity of ylight and flesh, yelow and pink colour tones that merge into human figures and body parts. The layering of colours required long drying periods, extending over 7 years the completion of this art piece.

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

Five fevers

on Paper / 168 x 297 cms / 2022

Five Fever borrows five characters from the Urban Bodies composition to capture five key human emotional states. From left to right: idealism, hope, fear, refusal and resignation

Acrylic

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

The Genesis

Ink and Acrylic on Paper / 120 x 280 cms / 2020

Tryptic Series that narrate in three paintings key moments of the myth of Icarus and Dedalus. In this painting Icarus is a child that starts his life journey, partly inheriting a cultural context and partly taking decisions that will determine his fate

Pencil,

The

Fall

Ink and Acrylic on Paper / 120 x 280 cms / 2019

Tryptic Series that narrate in three paintings key moments of the myth of Icarus and Dedalus. In this painting Icarus is falling from the skies into an urban setting converted into a stage for his tragic end, the anphitheater of his own destiny.

Pencil,

Pencil, Ink and Acrylic on Paper / 120 x 280 cms / 2021

Tryptic Series that narrate in three paintings key moments of the myth of Icarus and Dedalus. In this painting Icarus in full confidence is celebrating his flight to the skies in advance and his dreams of inmortality

The Triumph

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

The exacerbated and flagant inequialities present in the very dense urban environments refer here to the awareness of the difference and indifference.

Ink on Paper / 40 x 50 cms / 2020

Amanecer

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

Ink on Paper / 40 x 50 cms / 2020

The ethernal inner dialogue of the artist, here Luis Eduardo Aute speaking to himself through his frustrated path as a painter and successful career as a music composer and singer, always in the context of a dense and vibrant city

Ink on Paper / 40 x 50 cms / 2020

Build upon the Chinese mythology where Frogs in a well are symbolic of a lack of undertanding and vision, this ink study explores childhood in the city and the innerent lack of awareness of their overwhelming surroundings.

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

Frogs

The contemporary myth of tech gurus. An alegory of salvation through our most advanced tools. A questioning of current technological determinism so present in urbanised societies Ink on Paper / 40 x 50 cms / 2020

Ink on Paper / 40 x 32 cms / 2012

The fall of Icarus as per the Greek mythological tale of Dedalus and Icarus

The fall of Icarus

Mari Gea as the pagan godess that represents both in Greek and Basque mythology the earth and source of earthy things and beings, the ancient attachment to nature and land hardy present in our current urban hubs Ink on Paper / 40 x 32 cms / 2012

MariGea

URBO - Art Exhibition at St Ethelbulga, London 2025

The Urban Inquisitor

Pencil and gold leaf on Paper / 164 x 121 cms / 2016

A scene of a tale where a well established city dweller is welcoming a newcomer that struggles to be part of the urban environment . Gold symbolizing accumulation of wealth and social status versus survival mechanisms and complexities of adaptation

Line Composition

The line composition of URBO explores the two dimensional skeleton of the human bodies in space. Merging organic and orthogonal geometries without a given hierarchy Pencil on Paper / 40 x 32 cms / 2012

Concrete characters

Digital Edition / 70 x 65 cms / 2013

Concrete texture replaces skin and flesh, the human materiality. Concrete as the predominant construction material of our cities is applyed to the human figures as opposed to vulnerability and temporality.

Digital edition / 70 x 65 cms / 2014 Pinks

In Pinks overlapping human figures and body parts bring our attention to our flesh. The lack of skin, refers to our biological equalities and collectiveness, a dimension that escapes our cultural distinctiveness.

Composition

Ink on Paper / 70 x 65 cms / 2014

Evolving from the original URBO pencil composition, the ink version brings a deeper sense of depth of the space occupaied by the human figures. The equal level of shadow between the space and the figures talks about our desire to be integrated within our cultural and social context within the city.

Beige canvas background for a skinless human representation of the URBO composition in a mural size, architectral size art piece. This mural painting borrows drawing techniques such as the hatching and preliminary shadowing typically used in small pieces. This mural is the culmination of Urban Bodies .

Acrylic on canvas / 600 x 700 cms / 2017 URBO

Juan Oyarbide

b. San Sebastian 1979

Juan Oyarbide, born in San Sebastian in 1979, is an architect and artist currently based in London. He seamlessly combines his professional pursuits in architecture and urban design with his passion for creating prints and paintings.

Oyarbide draws inspiration from a rich tapestry of artistic traditions, notably influenced by the Basque, Spanish, and broader European art styles.

Over the past decade, he has dedicated his creative efforts to a singular project called Exsistine, which unfolds as a captivating composition comprising artworks of varying scales, ranging from small-scale pencil drawings to expansive murals.

Within the URBO project, Oyarbide has meticulously crafted a selection of key pieces using diverse mediums such as oil, ink, acrylic, digital production on canvas, timber, and paper.

Notably, he has created a highly detailed series of pencil and ink drawings that interweave characters drawn from different mythologies, including the Greek myth of Dedalus and Icarus, as well as Mari from Basque folklore.

In 2018, Oyarbide achieved one of his most ambitious painting endeavors to date by executing the URBO Mural on a grand scale, utilizing acrylics on a 6 x 7.2-meter canvas. This impressive artwork was completed within the confines of an abandoned building located in North London, adding an additional layer of intrigue to its creation.

URBO by Juan Oyarbide 2025

| Athens | San Sebastian