Art in freedom: Eight land art experiences in Spain's most beautiful landscapes
Have you heard of land art? It is an artistic movement that proposes to take art out of the cities and museums and into the heart of beautiful rural landscapes. The idea is that in addition to observing the work, you immerse yourself in it, discovering it through a walk through an open environment, without walls, where nature is the exhibition hall. In Spain you will find surprising routes and spaces where contemporary art coexists with forests, mountains, rivers and vineyards, giving rise to unique sensory experiences. Here are a few examples:
-
Oma Forest (Bizkaia, Basque Country)
Can you imagine walking through a forest where the trees have been painted with geometric and human figures in intense colours and where the perspective changes as you go along? You can live this magical experience in the Oma Forest, specifically in the town of Kortezubi, in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve and very close to the Santimamiñe caves. This work was created in 1984 by the artist Agustín Ibarrola and, although it was reopened in a new location in 2023, it still retains the charm and details of the original.For both free and guided tours, tickets must be booked in advance.
-
The Route of the Faces (Buendía, Cuenca)
Get ready to stroll among sculptures of large faces and mystical figures from one to six metres high carved into the rock while you observe the landscapes of the Buendía reservoir. The artists Jorge J. Maldonado and Eulogio Reguillo have made possible this path that combines nature, art and spirituality. It can be done in just one hour and is of low difficulty, making it ideal for families.
-
Chillida's legacy
Eduardo Chillida is one of the universal artists who has best integrated sculpture and landscape. In Gijón, his “Elogio del Horizonte” frames the Cantabrian Sea from the top of a cliff, becoming a symbol of the city. In San Sebastian, the iconic “Wind Comb”, with its steel forms anchored in the rocks at the edge of the sea, seems to converse with the waves. If you want to find out more about the work of this artist and understand his creative process, visit the Chillida Leku museum in Hernani, where you can experience his sculptures in a natural setting. You will leave with the feeling of having been somewhere special.
-
Art Roads in Nature (Sierra de Francia, Salamanca)
You are sure to want to explore these four circular trails that combine contemporary art and nature in the Las Batuecas - Sierra de Francia Nature Reserve, which has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Along the way, your senses will be surprised by an immense cage over a valley, mermaids by a stream, doors that open onto the countryside, asteroids lost in a hermitage... Fascinating. You can choose from: the “Camino de los Prodigios”, which connects Miranda del Castañar and Villanueva del Conde; the “Asentadero - Bosque de los Espejos”, which links San Martín del Castañar, Sequeros and Las Casas del Conde; the “Camino de las Raíces” in La Alberca; and the “Camino del Agus”, between Mogarraz and Monforte de la Sierra.
-
Solo Sculpture Trail (Matarraña region, Teruel)
Just imagine: An open-air sculpture park in the beautiful region of Matarraña (Teruel), known for its centuries-old vineyards, olive groves and Mediterranean forests. Solo Sculpture Trail is a trail created by Solo Houses and the Albarrán Bourdais Gallery featuring more than 20 sculptures by international artists such as Christian Boltanski and Claudia Comte.The trail, which starts at the Venta d'Aubert winery and is three kilometres long, will give you a unique sensory experience where art and nature in the Ports of Tortosa-Beceite Natural Park complement each other. The walk allows you to enjoy both the works and the views and tranquillity of one of the most beautiful rural settings in Spain.
-
Valle de los Sueños - Puebla de la Sierra (Madrid)
In the middle of the sierra del Rincón, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, the Valle de los Sueños was born as a vision of the sculptor Federico Eguía and today it is a place where art and nature live in harmony. You can find over 100 sculptures by international artists scattered among the 1.5 kilometres of oak, birch, and pine trees. The visit starts at the Interpretation Centre, which is home to Japanese works as a result of Puebla de la Sierra being twinned with the city of Osaka. In the valley, a stone piano and a gigantic chair seem to whisper stories to visitors, a reminder that dreams can take root and become eternal art.
-
Island of Sculptures - Pontevedra, Galicia
On the river Lérez in the city of Pontevedra, the Isla de las Esculturas - the largest open-air museum of contemporary art in Galicia - brings together 12 imposing granite works by international artists. These include Robert Morris's labyrinth and Dan Graham's pyramid.Galicia is home to other spaces where land art comes to life in the middle of nature. This is the case in the sculpture walk in Punta Moreiras in O Grove, where maritime-themed figures emerge among the sea and rocks, and by the Menhirs for Peace next to the Tower of Hercules in La Coruña, which create a stone horizon against the Atlantic. In each of these places, art is not only contemplated: it is walked and experienced.
-
Open-air museums: When the landscape is an exhibition hall
In addition to these popular or spontaneous land art routes, there are authentic museums conceived for the outdoors with a carefully curated artistic mission.For example, in the south of Spain, among pine forests and dirt roads, in Montenmedio (Cádiz), you will find the Fundación NMAC, which offers one of the most intense experiences of land art in the country. It brings together installations by renowned contemporary artists such as James Turrell and Marina Abramović, who have created works designed to dialogue with the Andalusian landscape, light and the passage of time.In the landscape of the Natural Monument of Los Barruecos, in Malpartida de Cáceres, you can find the unique Vostell Malpartida Museum, where the works of the German artist Wolf Vostell (one of the pioneers of video art and the Happening movement in Europe) merge with the stone, water and sky of Extremadura. For its part, in Huesca, the CDAN (Centro de Arte y Naturaleza) promotes projects that integrate contemporary art into the natural environment of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, inviting people to rediscover the landscape from a new sensibility.
These are just a few examples of land art that you will find in Spain. In addition, other itineraries such as the Sculpture Route of Bogarra in Albacete and Las Navas del Marqués in Ávila, the Paseo del Machimbrao in Labastida, Álava, and the Cubos de la Memoria in Llanes, Asturias, extend this map of open-air art, where each work transforms its surroundings and its visitors.
Book yours
Choose between thousands of activities to live your best life on holiday.
