Sin título (Boceto para logotipo del Centro de Arte Reina Sofía) (Untitled [Sketch for Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Logo])

Sculptor and engraver Eduardo Chillida embraced abstraction in the early years of his career. His exploration of the limits of matter and its relationship with space are essential features of an oeuvre that has been key to international sculpture since the late 1950s. As part of the interior design and image project for the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, CARS (Reina Sofía Art Centre), coordinated by designer André Ricard, the Spanish Ministry of Culture asked Chillida to create a graphic symbol, given his career as an illustrator and graphic designer. Chillida had already designed logos and anagrams for various private and public institutions, including the University of the Basque Country (1982), while his poster designs include those for the Munich Olympic Games (1972) and for his own exhibitions. The symbol chosen as the CARS’ visual identity, executed in black, shows the author’s preference for curved forms, with which he sought to enclose the void, a key feature of his formal vocabulary. This graphic identity was transferred to several gold medals, made using the lost wax technique. One of them was presented to Her Majesty Queen Sofía during the CARS inauguration ceremony. The logo served as the centre’s institutional image until 1992, when it became the National Museum.