Asier Mendizabal (Ordizia, Basque Country, 1973) focuses his work on analysing a series of cultural and ideological traditions in the history of art and culture in general and in the Basque Country in particular. He strives to update the past from the unstable, flexible present and subtly plays with layers of meaning that incorporate historical references, specific knowledge and aesthetic intuitions in a delicate balance of form and concept. Although closely linked to sculpture, his work takes many forms, including video, photography, text and prints. His discourse and the forms of his pieces draw heavily from the tradition of Basque sculpture, a key reference that the artist links with other interests, such as the abstract utopia of the early 20th century, the relationship between modernity and popular culture, political cinema and countercultural movements such as punk and radical rock. His work is characterised by a conceptual exploration that fuses form, discourse and ideology in pieces defined by two key premises: a powerful aesthetic impact and a recalcitrant discourse that obscures its contents and intentions, at least at first sight. His work questions pre-established conventions governing artistic objects, understood as ideological artefacts capable of taking on concepts such as the symbols of power through the forms and material force of collective representation. His interest in sculpture has driven him to critically rethink monuments and his interest in the social imaginary has led him to explore group behaviour stemming from popular culture and folklore, with particular focus on settings, emblems, symbols and codes created by the intensity and tension of mass behaviour. By understanding art as a system of demands, Mendizabal is able to encompass perspectives that find no place in other areas of our everyday life. He essentially explores politics and aesthetics by analysing ideology and the ways it reveals itself. When it comes to interpreting his works, this approach connects with the narrative of film editing and constructivist, modular sculpture—for him, two different yet complementary systems for understanding how his work fits together syntactically. Asier Mendizabal currently lives in Bilbao. His work has been exhibited at museums, art centres and events in Spain and worldwide, including Manifesta 5, the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Artium (Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo), the Bucharest Biennale, the Museu de Serralves in Porto, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid and the 54th Venice Biennale.