In the mid-1960s, Eduardo Chillida began working with alabaster. This material was suited to capturing light in such a way as to render it transcendental. Alabaster enabled the artist to capture the black light of the Cantabrian. That is, the dark luminosity to which he felt he belonged.

In Homenaje a la mar IV, Chillida bored through the material to create a series of semicircles which allude to the waves of the ocean, making a direct reference to his Peine del viento that sits at the western extreme of La Concha Bay in his home town. The view of the sea in constant motion inspired the curves that connect with the eternal advance and retreat of the water and with the rhythms of nature. The sea marks the boundary with the land. It is deep, mysterious and immeasurable. The sea provided answers to Chillida’s never-ending questions. He himself said, “the sea is my master”.