Welcome to Buztinaga

I simply tell them to think like Leonardo da Vinci and they will understand.

Many people will wonder why I have traveled such a wide range of studies and knowledge that do not seem to be very common or related if you think about it; and the truth is that yes, many times they ask me that.
I simply ask you to think like Leonardo da Vinci and you will understand.
It is not that I am going to compare myself to this genius of the Renaissance at all, whom I would have loved to know; but it is his way of thinking and understanding life, which has always guided me.
Knowledge as the best weapon of overcoming and nourishment of the restless spirit.
I can not deny it; when I like something; I grab it with the teeth of my curiosity and do not let go until I can understand and dissect even the smallest detail or gear that can make it completely understandable to my eyes.

My father was a tireless creator of works with very different techniques

Since I have memories of my childhood, I have always been accompanied by the smell of turpentine, oil paintings, wood and freshly coated canvas with rabbit tail and white Spain (very curious name for a white color, considering the immense amount of “colors” we have in our land).

All these smells are for me, the smells of a real HOME.

I will never feel as warm and comfortable as when I am surrounded by those smells and of course also, the smells of that field of wet moss, with the freshness of the eucalyptus and the pine, and that unmistakable and salty touch that the breeze brings. estuary from the port of Getxo.

My father, José de Martín Simón was a great artist whose works can be enjoyed in the Buztinaga museum when they visit him.

He was the one who taught me the basic and fundamental concepts of painting, drawing and the knowledge of materials so necessary for their use when using them.
She taught me to be fearless and curious and not to be afraid of dreams.
It is to him, to whom I owe all that teaching and knowledge so important to me and I will thank him all my life.

My father was a tireless creator of works with very different techniques, always innovating and investigating new ways of communication through his works.

But there is never “a one without a two” and I have to thank and acknowledge the great effort that my mother also made to raise and care for us in very complicated moments where money was scarce and sometimes, there was not.

My mother, María del Carmen Higuera Castaños, is a post-war mother, educated to obey and keep quiet in a home and frankly, it is thanks to her tenacity and sacrifice that we were all able to get ahead in a home that was often sustained by pure “dreams”; A home where my father was also able to enjoy a “balance” and a peace of mind, which could only be maintained thanks to her tenacity and effort, like that of almost all the mothers of our post-war era and of the end of the twentieth century, and who will never be sufficiently recognized.

It is also thanks to her and the transfer of her works, the works of my father to Buztinaga, the reason why I can realize this great project that means bringing art, music, cinema and gastronomy, among other activities, to all the public who visit us.

Colecciono objetos que nos “hablan”.
Porque todo objeto tiene una procedencia, todo objeto tiene una historia

Over the last thirty years and in many parts of the world, I have also been able to expand my collection of works of art, artifacts and ancient and curious objects, as well as a collection of “rare” books and first editions that can hardly be found anywhere on the globe.

For some reason I feel I have to “preserve” those objects, books and artifacts created in another century so that they are not lost or destroyed for their lack of “utility”.
I would like people to appreciate that in an earlier time things so simple or complicated depending on their objective; they were created to last a lifetime, to perform a function with rigor and good bill in addition to having a nice and showy design and elegance.
From a 1905 cash register, to an 1890 horse toy or a Russian-made Cold War spy camera.
I collect objects that “speak” to us.
Because every object has a provenance, every object has a history and keeps in part that “aura’ and smell of past times that help us better understand where we come from and the importance of remembering “What happened” in those times.
The true importance of NOT forgetting our past and our history; to keep the best of us and not to forget the horrors and nightmares that humans are capable of generating; and so that we cannot repeat those barbarities.