Jesus Mari Lazkano Examines Changing Landscapes Through Painting and Animated Film at Basque Luxury Studio

On September 11, Basque Luxury Studio in San Sebastián, Spain, opened ‘Azken Natura,’ a solo exhibition by Basque artist Jesus Mari Lazkano that pairs six medium- and large-scale paintings with a 22-minute animated film. The show, which runs through September 2028, examines landscapes in transition and the traces human activity leaves on the natural environment.

The exhibition centers on Lazkano’s long-term project ‘The Last Ice,’ a body of work focused on the representation of nature. Five of the paintings are acrylic on canvas; the sixth is a pastel and colored-pencil drawing on paper. Together, they depict landscapes undergoing significant environmental change, questioning how nature is approached and used.

Alongside the paintings, the gallery screens ‘Natura Fugit,’ a short animated film created by Lazkano in collaboration with production companies Dibulitoon and Art Frame. The film premiered in 2025 at the San Sebastián International Film Festival and took four years to produce, involving nearly 3,000 hand-drawn images by Lazkano. The animation traces the melting of the Alpine glacier Mer de Glace, translating the artist’s pictorial approach into moving image.

Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|——|——–|
| Exhibition | ‘Azken Natura’ at Basque Luxury Studio, San Sebastián |
| Artist | Jesus Mari Lazkano |
| Works | 6 paintings (5 acrylic on canvas, 1 pastel/colored-pencil drawing) + 22-min animated film ‘Natura Fugit’ |
| Run | September 11, 2026 – September 2028 |

A visual language for environmental change

Lazkano’s work addresses the relationship between environmental change and the sustainability of human actions. While these topics are often discussed through scientific, political, or social frameworks, ‘Azken Natura’ focuses on the communicative and emotional dimensions. Painting and animation become tools for translating environmental data and physical change into visual forms that can enter public and cultural discussion.

The exhibition also considers the role of visual culture during periods of broader change. As new environmental concerns reshape social and cultural perspectives, artists contribute images and visual references through which these shifts can be understood and represented. ‘Azken Natura’ establishes this visual framework through a combination of large-scale painting, drawing, and animation.

From still image to moving image

The transition from painting to animation is central to Lazkano’s project. The nearly 3,000 drawings that make up ‘Natura Fugit’ extend the artist’s exploration of landscape as a changing physical environment. The film depicts the Mer de Glace glacier not as a static subject but as a body in retreat, connecting Lazkano’s visual language with wider discussions around human impact on the environment.

The paintings, made between 2021 and 2026, consider a future in which familiar landscapes may no longer exist in their current form. The works depict landscape, reality, and the surrounding environment as spaces undergoing significant change.

Basque Luxury Studio’s cultural program

‘Azken Natura’ is the eighth exhibition organized by Basque Luxury Studio over the past decade. As part of its program promoting local culture, the company has previously organized solo exhibitions dedicated to Alfredo Bikondoa, Iñigo Manterola, Víctor Goikoetxea, Miguel Balliache, José Zugasti, and Jose Luis Zumeta. The current exhibition presents the work of Jesus Mari Lazkano, one of the prominent contemporary artists on the Basque cultural scene.

For readers interested in the intersection of visual art and environmental discourse, ‘Azken Natura’ offers a sustained look at how an artist translates scientific and ecological observation into both still and moving images. The exhibition remains open to the public through September 2028.

Source: Designboom – https://www.designboom.com/art/jesus-mari-lazkano-changing-landscapes-painting-animated-film-azken-natura/

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