The works by Uriarte held in the Banco de España Collection show the main features of his oeuvre: simple production, materials that can be found in offices anywhere in the world and little intention beyond the pleasure of creating something per se. He uses a methodical, production-line-type process that ensures consistency and avoids disappointment in his output, given that it results in few failures.

In White Rhombus (2011), the title highlights what is not drawn: the void. This is the very essence of his creative process. He uses ball-point pens for colouring and occasionally promotes them to the status of sculptural objects. Here, there are four patches of colour in the basic colours in which BIC ball-point pens are available: blue, red, black and green. Four standard colours in the world of clerical work that highlight that idea of emptiness. Colour is applied in a highly natural fashion in recognisable strokes, as a sort of fingerprint of his work, harking back to the days before clerks typed their reports on computer keyboards and personal authorship was lost. The work is drawn on paper, which requires no preparation or preliminary rituals. It shows a universe that is predictable and orderly, like a watch that goes unnoticed until you lose it but then becomes essential. Perhaps the same can be said of Uriarte's art.

Ignacio Uriarte came late to the world of art, abandoning his career as a clerical worker to devote himself full-time to producing art with the materials that he had closest at hand: ball-point pens, rulers, highlighters, folders and paper. He defines himself as a caged animal: the cage door has been opened but he prefers to stay inside. That wish to stay inside is linked to the calling that he found almost by accident, but also to the way in which he looks at art: simply, directly, with no fireworks or padding that could introduce interferences between the work and the spectator.

The success of this outlook can be seen in his international renown and his inclusion in numerous exhibitions in Europe, the USA and Asia.

Jorge Pallarés