Philip Aguirre y Otegui

Philip Aguirre y Otegui, born in Schoten in 1961, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the National Higher Institute, both in Antwerp. He lives and works in Borgerhout.
His sculptural oeuvre consists mainly of compositions in patinated bronze. However, his work also features materials such as terracotta, plaster, cement and epoxy, sometimes painted or enhanced by the incorporation of existing shapes and objets trouvés. Aguirre also works with etchings, screen prints, drawings, collages and paintings, again often supplemented with collages of found images. 
Thematically, the artist focuses primarily on human beings in relation to their fellow humans, the world and nature.
In addition to his solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions, his sculptures have been included in the public collections of Mu.ZEE (Ostend), University of Antwerp, Kadehuis (Ghent), Kaprijke, Waasmunster, Ostend, Dossinkazerne (Mechelen), Ndogpassi (Cameroon), Herentals, Zorgcentrum Turnhout, Buurthuis Opexwijk (Ostend), Sint-Niklaas, Wolfabriek Lot (Brussels) and Saint-Sixtus Abbey (Westvleteren), among others.

In 2020, he was commissioned by the municipality of Knokke-Heist to create a permanent monumental sculpture in brick for De Pluim municipal primary school at Kragendijk 182, Knokke-Heist. 
This sculpture can be visited from 10 am to 5 pm every day.

Poort (Gateway) (2019) is based on a sketch of a man and a woman holding each other by the shoulders in such a way that they support each other and form a gateway. Positioned on the Zeedijk side of Van Bunnenplein, this strongly symbolic gesture represents the passage from the city centre to the Zeedijk or vice versa.