Art

Wednesday 10 January 2024

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation” E.A. Bucchianeri

We spent yesterday in Bilbao and our main reason for going was to visit the Guggenheim Museum. The building, designed by Frank Gehry, is amazing, almost sculpture-like. Luckily the sun was shining brightly when we arrived and we were able to experience the reflections on some of the 42,875 titanium metal panels which cover the building.

Inside it also feels like a work of art. The three levels of the building are organised around an open atrium connected by curved walkways, titanium and glass lifts and staircases.

On display are works of art from Gertrud Gego, Mark Rothko, Jeff Koons (of the now famous smashed blue balloon dog piece) and a whole floor dedicated to Pablo Picasso.

“Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?” 

Pablo Picasso

Another area contained 8 massive curved weathered steel maze-like structures, each with its own shape and acoustics. Entitled ‘The Matter of Time’ it took 10 years to complete by American designer Richard Serra. We particularly liked walking around this display (that’s me inside the first structure!).

Today we visited a town called Llanes on the Cantabrian coastline where the concrete blocks of the harbour breakwater have, unusually, been brightly painted. Known as the Cubes of Memory, the installation was created by Basque artist Agustín Ibarrola 20 years ago. Some blocks, understandably, are showing signs of weathering as they face a regular battering from the waves crashing in off the Bay of Biscay.

“Art is never finished. Only abandoned”. 

Leonardo da Vinci

Different people have different tastes and preferences when it comes to art, so what one person finds beautiful, another may not. My favourite piece of art from what we saw over the past couple of days has to be the museum building itself. Just awe inspiring ….