Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

We caught a bus from Logroño off the camino route to Bilbao to visit the famous Guggenheim museum. Wow what an amazing building designed by the American architect Frank Gherry, it really is a piece of art in itself. The thought that has gone into this building is unbelievable. The main centre foyer called the atrium, acts like the heart of the building, pumping people in and out of the different galleries and spaces that are all accessed from the atruim. The building is made up of three materials, glass, stone and titanium. The titanium sheets are like the skin of the building but then Gherry has designed it so the outside titanium comes inside the building, connecting the outside with the inside.

We did an audio tour with Frank Gherry speaking about the process of the design and what he was thinking. I found it interesting when he was talking about his first sketch of the building, he had no concept yet so he just let is pen flow and didn´t lift it off the paper. He was talking about how he likes free flowing and movement in his buildings and this shows in the Guggenheim because there is not straight lines in the building, everything is curved. This was difficult so they used robots to achieve this in the design.

Gherry even thought about the history of the city of Bilbao, which was a fishing and shipping town that sits right on a river. He wanted to create the effect of the building being a bit like a boat, so he bought the building closer to the river by creating the Water Garden, which is a 30cm deep pool that comes up to the side of the building, giving the illusion of the buliding almost floating on the river. He also wanted the building to come to the river, so he designed a walk bridge that go out across the river to have the effect of a bow of a boat over the water.

He wanted the building to sit within the landscape of the city, so from the centre of the atrium you can see both side of the city looking through glass on either side, connecting it. 

Gherry spoke about his facination with fish ever since he was young. The titanium sheets on the outside of the building overlap and connect like the scales of a fish. Gherry tells the story of his grandmother keeping live carp in the bathtub until she was ready to cook them and as a child Gherry would always play with them. This started his facination with fish.

Me outside this unbelievable building, on the bridge walkway infront of the water garden.

The atrium.

The American sculptor Jeff Koons has two amazing pieces here outside the Guggenheim. At the entrance you can´t miss Puppy, the gigantic west highland terrier made of a steel skelton, earth and growing flowers. At the moment it is spring so he was in full bloom with multi-coloured pansies. Although he is so massive, he is still so adorable and just a cute puppy.

Jeff Koons-York, Pennsylvania,1955.

Puppy-Stainless steel, soil, flowering plants. 1992.

1.240x830x910cm

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

In addition to Puppy, Jeff Koons also has created Tulips, a bouquet of multi-coloured balloon-like flowers that are in a huge form. From his Celebration series, this work looks like those long sausage balloons that are twisted into all different types of shapes at kids´ parties. In the same series, Koons also created Balloon Dogs and after seeing Tulips and their vibrant colours I really want to see one of them. Its facinating because they look so light like a balloon but are made from heavy high chromium stainless steel. They they look so shiney and smoothe, I just want to touch them!

Jeff Koons-York, Pennsylvania,1955.

Tulips-high chromium stainless steel with stransparent colour coating. 1995-2004.

203x460x520

Version 4/5

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

An amzing sculpture this time by the Indian artist Anish Kapoor. Tall Tree and the Eye is a sculpture of glassy bubbles placed in an asymmetrical way. It looks similar to Jeff Koons´ Tulips in its shiny, smooth, glossy exterior.

Anish Kapoor-Bombay, India, 1954.

Tall Tree and the Eye-Stainless steel and carbon steel. 2009.

14x6m

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

The Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya has a fog sculpture installation under the walk bridge. It gives off fog every 20 minutes or so and it moves around in what ever way the wind is blowing. The fog moves over the water garden, then the bridge and even towards the river, it come right up to the building. It gives the impression of the Guggenheim actually moving like a boat through the mist of the sea, almost spookey but awesome! I love this installation and it was one of my favourite things.  It is the perfect piece of art to go with Frank Gherry´s vision of his building having movement and this intallation just makes it complete.

Fujiko Nakaya-Sapporo, Japan, 1933.

Fog sculpture #08025 ¨F.O.G.¨ 1998

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

French sculpter Louise Bourgeous created Maman- french for mother, it is a massive 9m high bronze sculpture of a spider, which sits beside the Guggenheim on the banks of the river. She said ¨it is an ode to my mother who like a spider was a weaver, also a srong but fragile woman. Like a spider my mother was clever. Spiders are a friendly presents that eat mosquitos and we know mosquitos spread disease and are thereforë unwanted, so spiders are helpful and protective just like my mother¨.  Unfortuantly Louise Bourgeous died in 2010, she just missed out on turning 100!!

Louise Bourgeous-Paris, France, 1911-2010.

Mamam-Bronze. 1999.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

This was a wonderful experience, a highlight so far and I wont forget it.