Guggenheim museum Bilbao - Wikipedia Guggenheim museum Bilbao Art museum in Bilbao, Spain Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Museo Guggenheim Bilbao / Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, along the Nervión River in central Bilbao Established 18 October 1997 Location Abando, Bilbao, Spain Coordinates 43 ° 16 ′ 07 '' N 2 ° 56 ′ 02 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.26861 ° N 2.93389 ° W ﻿ / 43.26861 ; - 2.93389 Coordinates : 43 ° 16 ′ 07 '' N 2 ° 56 ′ 02 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.26861 ° N 2.93389 ° W ﻿ / 43.26861 ; - 2.93389 Type Art museum Visitors 1 322 611 ( 2017 ) Director Juan Ignacio Vidarte Public transit access EuskoTran 's Line A Website www.guggenheim-bilbao.es The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian - American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. It is one of the largest museums in Spain. One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, the building has been hailed as a `` signal moment in the architectural culture '', because it represents `` one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something. '' The museum was the building most frequently named as one of the most important works completed since 1980 in the 2010 World Architecture Survey among architecture experts. Contents 1 History 2 Building 3 Exhibitions 4 Economic and media impact 5 Criticism 6 Management and 2007 embezzlement incident 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 10 External links History In 1991, the Basque government suggested to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that it would fund a Guggenheim museum to be built in Bilbao 's decrepit port area, once the city 's main source of income. The Basque government agreed to cover the US $100 million construction cost, to create a US $50 million acquisitions fund, to pay a one - time US $20 million fee to the Guggenheim and to subsidize the museum 's US $12 million annual budget. In exchange, the Foundation agreed to manage the institution, rotate parts of its permanent collection through the Bilbao museum and organize temporary exhibitions. The museum was built by Ferrovial, at a cost of US $89 million. About 5,000 residents of Bilbao attended a preopening extravaganza outside the museum on the night preceding the official opening, featuring an outdoor light show and concerts. On 18 October 1997 the museum was opened by Juan Carlos I of Spain. Building The museum is clad in glass, titanium, and limestone The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation selected Frank Gehry as the architect, and its director, Thomas Krens, encouraged him to design something daring and innovative. The curves on the exterior of the building were intended to appear random ; the architect said that `` the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light ''. The interior `` is designed around a large, light - filled atrium with views of Bilbao 's estuary and the surrounding hills of the Basque country ''. The atrium, which Gehry nicknamed The Flower because of its shape, serves as the organizing center of the museum. When the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened to the public in 1997, it was immediately hailed as one of the world 's most spectacular buildings in the style of Deconstructivism ( although Gehry does not associate himself with that architectural movement ), a masterpiece of the 20th century. Architect Philip Johnson described it as `` the greatest building of our time '', while critic Calvin Tomkins, in The New Yorker, characterized it as `` a fantastic dream ship of undulating form in a cloak of titanium, '' its brilliantly reflective panels also reminiscent of fish scales. Herbert Muschamp praised its `` mercurial brilliance '' in The New York Times Magazine. The Independent calls the museum `` an astonishing architectural feat ''. The building inspired other structures of similar design across the globe. The museum is seamlessly integrated into the urban context, unfolding its interconnecting shapes of stone, glass and titanium on a 32,500 - square - meter ( 350,000 sq ft ) site along the Nervión River in the ancient industrial heart of the city ; while modest from street level, it is most impressive when viewed from the river. With a total 24,000 m ( 260,000 sq ft ), of which 11,000 m ( 120,000 sq ft ) are dedicated to exhibition space, it had more exhibition space than the three Guggenheim collections in New York and Venice combined at that time. The 11,000 m of exhibition space are distributed over nineteen galleries, ten of which follow a classic orthogonal plan that can be identified from the exterior by their stone finishes. The remaining nine galleries are irregularly shaped and can be identified from the outside by their swirling organic forms and titanium cladding. The largest gallery measures 30 meters wide and 130 meters long ( 98 ft × 427 ft ). In 2005, it housed Richard Serra 's monumental installation The Matter of Time, which Robert Hughes dubbed `` courageous and sublime ''. The museum by night, November 2007 The building was constructed on time and budget, which is rare for architecture of this type. In an interview in Harvard Design Magazine, Gehry explained how he did it. First, he ensured that what he calls the `` organization of the artist '' prevailed during construction, to prevent political and business interests from interfering with the design. Second, he made sure he had a detailed and realistic cost estimate before proceeding. Third, he used computer visualizations produced by his own Digital Project software and collaborated closely with the individual building trades to control costs during construction. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines donated $1,000,000 towards its construction. Exhibitions The museum notably houses `` large - scale, site - specific works and installations by contemporary artists '', such as Richard Serra 's 100 - meter - long ( 340 ft ) Snake, and displays the work of Basque artists, `` as well as housing a selection of works '' from the Foundation 's modern art collection. In 1997, the museum opened with `` The Guggenheim Museums and the Art of This Century '', a 300 - piece overview of 20th - century art from Cubism to new media art. Most pieces came from the Guggenheim 's permanent collection, but the museum also acquired paintings by Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still and commissioned new works by Francesco Clemente, Anselm Kiefer, Jenny Holzer and Richard Serra. The exhibitions change often ; the museum generally hosts thematic exhibitions, centered for example on Chinese or Russian art. Traditional paintings and sculptures are a minority compared to installations and electronic forms. The highlight of the collection, and its only permanent exhibit, is The Matter of Time ( incorporating an earlier work, Snake ), a series of weathering steel sculptures designed by Serra, which is housed in the 130 - meter Arcelor Gallery ( formerly known as the Fish Gallery but renamed in 2005 for the steel manufacturer that sponsored the project ). The collections usually highlight Avant - garde art, 20th century abstraction, and non-objective art. When the museum announced the 2011 exhibition `` The Luminous Interval '', a show of artwork belonging to Greek businessman Dimitris Daskalopoulos, who is also a museum trustee, this met with criticism of, among other things, too much curatorial power for a serious benefactor. In 2005, Olivier Berggruen and Ingrid Pfeiffer curated a retrospective of Yves Klein. In 2012 David Hockney 's exhibition drew over 290,000 visitors to the museum. Tulips by Jeff Koons Puppy by Jeff Koons in front of the museum Economic and media impact The museum was opened as part of a revitalization effort for the city of Bilbao. Almost immediately after its opening, the Guggenheim Bilbao became a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the globe. In its first three years, almost 4 million tourists visited the museum, helping to generate about € 500 million in economic activity. The regional council estimated that the money visitors spent on hotels, restaurants, shops and transport allowed it to collect € 100 million in taxes, which more than paid for the building cost. Aerial view of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The building was featured in the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough in the pre-title sequence and the 2007 Tamil film Sivaji : The Boss, in which it is the setting for the song Style, composed by A.R. Rahman. Mariah Carey 's music video `` Sweetheart '', directed by Hype Williams, shows singers Jermaine Dupri and Carey in various locations at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Criticism The so - called `` Bilbao effect '' refers to how the museum transformed the city. The term, however, has also been employed by critics who have denounced the museum as a symbol of gentrification and cultural imperialism. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the Bilbao effect should be called the Bilbao anomaly, `` for the iconic chemistry between the design of building, its image and the public turns out to be rather rare. '' Art critic Brian O'Doherty was positive about approaching the building but criticized the museum 's interior effect, saying `` ( O ) nce you get indoors things are a little different. Even the so - called site - specific works did n't look too happy to me. Most of the interior spaces are too vast. '' He went on to describe how works by Braque, Picasso and Rodchenko `` looked absurd '' and tiny on the museum 's walls. Management and 2007 embezzlement incident According to a report issued in 2007 by the Basque Court of Auditors, the museum paid more than US $27 million for the acquisition of art between 2002 and 2005, including Serra 's The Matter of Time for the cavernous ground - floor gallery. After another audit in 2008 revealed that money was missing from accounts, the Foundation said that it filed a case against the director, Roberto Cearsolo Barrenetxea, `` for financial and accounting irregularities '', asserting that he had admitted diverting money from two companies that manage the Guggenheim Bilbao building and its art collection to his own account since 1998. Gallery Bilbao Guggenheim Bilbao Guggenheim Bilbao Guggenheim Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, July 2010 Bilbao Puppy by Jeff Koons Acrylics on fine art paper painting by Iñaki Crespo Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, July 2010 Guggenheim museum at night Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, rear See also 12 Treasures of Spain Guggenheim family The Globalized City, a publication doing case studies on the museum as a large scale development project List of Guggenheim Museums References Jump up ^ El Museo Guggenheim Bilbao vive el mejor año de su historia en su XX Aniversario ^ Jump up to : Tyrnauer, Matt ( June 30, 2010 ). `` Architecture in the Age of Gehry ''. Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 22, 2010. Jump up ^ Templar, Karen. `` Frank Gerry '', Salon, October 5, 1997, accessed March 21, 2012 ^ Jump up to : `` Guggenheim Museum Bilbao '', The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, accessed April 4, 2012 ^ Jump up to : ( 1 ), CNN, October 18, 1997 ^ Jump up to : Riding, Alan. `` A Gleaming New Guggenheim for Grimy Bilbao '', The New York Times, 24 June 1997. Jump up ^ Ferrovial history Jump up ^ Ouroussoff, Nicolai. `` The Architect 's New Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Emerges as a Testament to One Man 's Optimism Amid a Landscape of Industrial Decay '', Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1997. Jump up ^ Gehry, Frank. Frank Gehry Talks Architecture and Process ( New York : Rizolli, 1999 ), p. 20 Jump up ^ Aggerwal, Artika. `` Frank Owen Gerty ''. Retrieved August 18, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Walsh, John. `` The priceless Peggy Guggenheim '', The Independent, October 21, 2009, accessed March 12, 2012 ^ Jump up to : Lee, Denny ( September 23, 2007 ). `` Bilbao, 10 Years Later ''. The New York Times. ^ Jump up to : Tompkins, Calvin. `` The Maverick '', The New Yorker, July 7, 1997, accessed March 13, 2012 Jump up ^ Tyrnauer, Matt. `` Architecture in the Age of Gehry '', Vanity Fair, August 2010, accessed March 27, 2012 ^ Jump up to : Muschamp, Herbert. `` The Miracle in Bilbao '', The New York Times Magazine, September 7, 1997, accessed April 4, 2012 Jump up ^ Templer, Karen. `` Frank Gehry '', Salon, October 5, 1999, accessed March 27, 2012 Jump up ^ Hughes, Robert, `` Man of Steel '', The Guardian, June 22, 2005, accessed March 27, 2012 Jump up ^ Bird 's - eye rendering of the Arcelor Gallery with layout of installation `` The Matter of Time '', Artnet News, accessed April 14, 2012 Jump up ^ Vogel, Carol. `` Guggenheim Defends Show of Trustee 's Art '', The New York Times, December 16, 2010. Jump up ^ Guggenheim Bilbao, Art Program : 2005 Jump up ^ Cañadillas, Iñaki. `` Caso práctico : La Planificación Estratégica del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao desde una perspectiva de Marketing '' ( PDF ). Retrieved October 13, 2011. Jump up ^ Crawford, Leslie. `` Guggenheim, Bilbao, and the ' hot banana ' '' Archived 2013 - 05 - 18 at the Wayback Machine., Financial Times, September 4, 2001. Jump up ^ Skin Grafting in ' Sivaji ', India Glitz Jump up ^ Hedgecoe, Guy. `` Bilbao 's Guggenheim continues to divide '', Deutsche Welle, June 6, 2012. Jump up ^ Rybczynski, Witold. When Buildings Try Too Hard, Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Public Spectacle : Mark Godfrey and Rosie Bennett talk to Brian O'Doherty, '' Frieze, issue 80, Jan. / Feb. 2004, p. 56. Jump up ^ Picard, Charmaine. `` Guggenheim Bilbao director admits to € 4.2 m loss '', The Art Newspaper, August 14, 2008. Jump up ^ Harris, Rachel Lee. `` Bilbao Museum Official Sentenced '', The New York Times, November 29, 2009. Jump up ^ Nayeri, Farah. ( Guggenheim Bilbao Says Its Finance Director Embezzled US $775,000 ), Bloomberg, April 17, 2008. Jump up ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence. `` Embezzlement at Guggenheim Bilbao '', The New York Times, April 17, 2008. Cuito, Aurora, Pons, Eugeni, Guggenheim, 2001. Guggenheim Bilbao, 2000, Connaissance des Arts ( Société Française de Promotion Artistique ) ; no. especial. Sullivan, Edward J, Calvo Serraller, Francisco, Hunter, Sam, Forma eta figurazioa : Blake - Purnell bildumako maisu - lanak : ( erakusketa, Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa ), Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, 1998. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Official website Scholars on Bilbao - academic works that analyse Bilbao 's urban regeneration Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - Project for Public Spaces Hall of Shame Pictures of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Guggenheim Museum in an artistic short movie Bilbao. Basque Pathways to Globalization, an analysis of the relationships between the city of Bilbao and globalization. Frank Gehry Completed works 8 Spruce Street Anaheim Ice Art Gallery of Ontario Biomuseo Binoculars Building BP Pedestrian Bridge Cabrillo Marine Aquarium California Science Center Air & Space Building Cinémathèque Française Dancing House Disney Village Dr Chau Chak Wing Building DZ Bank building Gehry Residence Gehry Tower Guggenheim Museum Bilbao IAC Building NYC Jay Pritzker Pavilion Louis Vuitton Foundation Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Loyola Law School Maggie 's Centre at Dundee Merriweather Post Pavilion Museum of Pop Culture Neuer Zollhof New World Center Novartis Pharma A.G. Campus Ohr - O'Keefe Museum Of Art Peter B. Lewis Building Ray and Maria Stata Center Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts Santa Monica Place Serpentine Gallery 2008 Summer Pavilion Sleep Train Pavilion Team Disney Anaheim University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Vitra Design Museum Walt Disney Concert Hall Weisman Art Museum Works under construction / proposed Estació de la Sagrera ( 2012 ) World Trade Center Performing Arts Center ( 2015 ) Guggenheim Abu Dhabi ( 2017 ) Grand Avenue Project ( On hold ) Philadelphia Museum of Art Expansion ( On hold ) Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial ( Proposed ) Associated with Aaron Betsky Dan Dworsky Vlado Milunić Permasteelisa Sydney Pollack Concepts Cardboard furniture Digital Project Organization of the artist Pop culture Easy Edges `` The Seven - Beer Snitch '' Sketches of Frank Gehry Commons Wikibooks Wikinews Wikiquote BIBSYS : 99006876 BNE : XX114466 BNF : cb135589733 ( data ) GND : 5210044 - 3 ISNI : 0000 0004 1775 8168 LCCN : n95006602 SELIBR : 357018 SUDOC : 052502554 ULAN : 500304557 VIAF : 128744734 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao&oldid=829315354 '' Categories : Modern art museums in Spain Expressionist architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1997 Frank Gehry buildings Museums established in 1997 1997 establishments in Spain European Museum of the Year Award winners Museums in Bilbao Cultural tourism in Spain Estuary of Bilbao Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with short description Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2011 Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Беларуская Български Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Estremeñu Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Magyar മലയാളം მარგალური مازِرونی Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Scots Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Winaray 中文 Kabɩyɛ 46 more Edit links This page was last edited on 7 March 2018, at 22 : 08. 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Question: who designed the guggenheim museum in bilbao spain
Answer: Frank Gehry