jesus mari lazkano traces changing landscapes through painting and film

Six paintings and animated film examine landscapes in transition

On September 11, Basque Luxury Studio in San Sebastián, Spain, opened ‘Azken Natura,’ a solo exhibition by Jesus Mari Lazkano. The exhibition brings together six medium- and large-scale paintings made between 2021 and 2026, alongside a screening of the short film ‘Natura Fugit,’ created by Lazkano in collaboration with production companies Dibulitoon and Art Frame. The 22-minute film premiered in 2025 at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Developed over four years, the project involved nearly 3,000 drawings by Lazkano depicting the melting of the Alpine glacier Mer de Glace. The drawings were assembled into an animated short that extends the artist’s pictorial approach into moving image.

At Basque Luxury Studio, the film is presented alongside six works from ‘The Last Ice,’ a body of work focused on Lazkano’s representation of nature. Five of the works are acrylic paintings on canvas, while the sixth is a pastel and colored-pencil drawing on paper. Together, the pieces examine the landscape as a changing physical environment and question the ways in which nature is approached and used. The paintings depict landscape, reality, and the surrounding environment as spaces undergoing significant change. The works consider a future in which familiar landscapes may no longer exist in their current form, connecting Lazkano’s visual language with wider discussions around human impact on the environment.

all images ©Basque Luxury Studio, Jesus Mari Lazkano

‘Azken Natura’ uses visual art to frame environmental change

From the perspective of visual art, ‘Azken Natura’ addresses the relationship between environmental change and the sustainability of human actions. While these issues are commonly discussed through scientific, political, and social frameworks, the exhibition focuses on the communicative and emotional dimensions of the subject. 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.

‘Azken Natura’ is the eighth exhibition organized by Basque Luxury 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. ‘Azken Natura’ remains open to the public through September 2028. 

Azken Natura brings six paintings and an animated film to Basque Luxury Studio

Jesus Mari Lazkano presents six medium- and large-scale landscape works

a pastel and colored-pencil drawing on paper completes the selection