1934 Exhibits with Narkis Balenciaga and Nicolás Lekuona at the Kursaal in San Sebastián, prize-winning artists at the Gipuzkoa New Artists Awards in 1931 and 1933.
1935 Moves to South America where he undertakes extensive artistic work.
1938 Professor of Ceramics in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Popayán (Colombia). Marries Itziar Carreño in Argentina.
1944-48 Publishes Letter to the artists of America: on new post-war art, gives various addresses, including Goya and Immobile Realism and presents an essay on Aesthetic Interpretation of Megalithic American Statuary.
1948-1958 Bilbao – Madrid – Arantzazu – São Paulo
1948 Settles in Bilbao.
1950 Carries out the sculptural work for the Basilica of Arantzazu (Oñati, Gipuzkoa), planned by Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza.
1953 Only Spanish sculptor selected for the international competition for the Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner. The project is exhibited in the Tate Gallery in London.
1954 Bishopric of San Sebastián prohibits his statuary in Arantzazu. In response, he publishes ‘Androcanto y sigo.’ Ballet for the stones of the apostles on the roadside. National Award for Architecture for the project for a chapel on the Road to Santiago, a joint undertaking with architects F. J. Sáenz de Oiza and Luis Romaní (not actually carried out).
1957 Grand Prix for Sculpture at the IV São Paulo Biennial (Brazil). Publishes the report Experimental Proposal 1956-1957.
1958-1975 Irún – Arantzazu
1958 He settles in Irún in a house that he designs together with Nestor Basterretxea. Exhibition in the Gress Galery in Washington, USA.
1959 Monument to Padre Donostia in Agiña, Lesaka. Finalises his experimental sculptural creation. International competition for a monument to the Uruguayan statesman José Battle y Ordóñez, in collaboration with architect Roberto Puig, in Montevideo (not actually carried out).
1960 Publishes The end of contemporary art, which explains his reasons for abandoning sculpture in the catalogue for the exhibition held together with Néstor Basterretxea at the Neblí gallery in Madrid.
1961 Juan Harte sets up the production company “X films” to make films by Oteiza and other artists.
1963 Publishes Quousque tandem…! Essay on the aesthetic interpretations of the Basque soul.
1964 He proposes setting up a Research Laboratory on Comparative Aesthetics in Madrid, a proposal that he also makes in other towns such as San Sebastián, Bilbao or St Jean de Luz (France) among others.
1963 Writes Spiritual exercises in a tunnel: searching and finding our lost identity, which was banned in 1966 and finally published in 1983.
1964 Participates in creating the Basque School groups: GAUR (Gipuzkoa), EMEN (Bizkaia), ORAIN (Araba) and DANOK (Navarre), and in the first exhibition by the Gaur group at the Barandiaran Gallery in San Sebastián.
1965 He takes part in the first exhibition held by the magazine “Nueva Forma” in Madrid together with Chillida, Millares, Palazuelo, and the architects Sáenz de Oiza and Fernández Alba.
1966 Writes Aesthetic of the egg: the Basque mentality and the labyrinth, published in the epilogue of Oteiza 1933-68 edited by Juan Daniel Fullaondo.
1967 He finishes putting the statues at the Basilica in Arantzazu in place.
1970 First Prize in the competition for the urban planning of the Plaza de Colón in Madrid, in which Angel Orbe, Mario Gaviria and Luis Arana also participated (not actually carried out).
1972 Resumes his experimental plastic activities in the Chalk Laboratory.
1975-2003 Alzuza – Zarautz
1975 He settles in Alzazu, Navarre with his wife Itziar Carreño.
1976 His work is exhibited at the Venice Biennial
1979 He designs the project for the Sabino Arana Foundation in Bilbao with Néstor Basterretxea which will finally not be carried out.
1983 The unabridged edition of Spiritual exercises in a tunnel is published.
1985 Receives the Gold Medal for Fine Arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture. Project for the Ametzagaña Cemetery in San Sebastián in collaboration with Juan Daniel Fullaondo, not actually carried out.
1986 Selected for the exhibition Qu’est-ce que la sculpture moderne? 1900-1970, held in the Museum of Modern Art at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris. The book Oteiza, Aesthete and Basque mythologist is published, which includes various interdisciplinary analyses of Oteiza’s intellectual contributions
1987 Participates in the exhibition Five Centuries of Spanish Art: the century of Picasso, organised by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and held in the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.
1988 Retrospective exhibition Oteiza: Experimental Proposal, organised by the Caixa de Pensions Foundation in Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona. Participates in the XLIII Venice Biennial. Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts Publishes Letters to the Prince.
1989 Collaborates with F. J. Sáenz de Oiza and Juan Daniel Fullaondo in a project for the Alhóndiga Cultural Centre in Bilbao, not actually carried out.
1985 Publishes the book of poems Existe Dios al Noroeste. Publishes the Book of Plagiarism and re-issues the Law of Changes. Itziar Carreno dies in Alzuza.
1991 Publishes Itziar, elegy and other poems. Donates his entire work to Navarre to create the Jorge Oteiza Museum Foundation in Alzuza. Gold Medal of Navarre awarded by the Government of Navarre.
1992 Publica Itziar elegía y otros poemas. Dona toda su obra a Navarra para la creación de la Fundación Museo Jorge Oteiza Fundazio Museoa en Alzuza. Medalla de Oro de Navarra concedida por el Gobierno de Navarra.
1995 Publishes Notions for a Basque philology in our pre-Indo-European era and re-issues Aesthetic of the egg. Basque mentality and labyrinth. Eusko Ikaskuntza, the Society of Basque Studies, awards him the Manuel de Lekuona prize.
1996 Receives the Pevsner Prize (Paris) in recognition of his life’s work. He signs the Statutes governing the Jorge Oteiza Museum Foundation. Various cities such as Madrid, Pamplona or San Sebastián the exhibition Oteiza, the Architect, organised by Concha Lapayesse and Dario Gazapo. The Architect’s Association of the Basque Country-Navarre makes him an “Honorary member.” The lecture cycle Jorge Oteiza, Comprehensive Creator, is held in Pamplona, chaired by Alberto Rosales.
1997 Publishes Goya tomorrow. Immobile realism.
1998 Doctor “Honoris Causa” from the University of the Basque Country. Awarded the Madrid Fine Arts Circle Medal. Gipuzkoa Gold medal.
1999 Tired and revolving. A poetic miniature, a compilation of some of his poems, is published to round off the Jorge Oteiza and poet cycle held in San Sebastián.
2003 Dies on 9 April in San Sebastián. On 8 May the Oteiza Museum is inaugurated, the work of architect F. J. Sáenz de Oiza.
