The swirling spirals of the Guggenheim have been used to dramatic effect in popular culture: in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet as the setting for a shootout, in the Clive Owen thriller The International, and as a water-slide in the Jim Carrey comedy Mr. Popper’s Penguins, to name a few prominent references.
The Guggenheim Museum continues a tradition of hiring star architects to design its other museum branches across the globe, most notably in their decision to hire Los Angeles-based architect Frank Gehry to design their Bilbao, Spain branch. A design of steel sheaths and glass, the Guggenheim Bilbao most resembles Gehry’s later work, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The Guggenheim Bilbao has become such a tourist attraction in Spain that its construction has been dubbed “the Bilbao Effect,” a phenomenon in which the construction of a cultural institution with monumental, extravagant architecture can revitalize a city by inspiring tourism. Gehry is currently at work on the Guggenheim’s Abu Dhabi branch, while Dutch-born architect Rem Koolhaas designed the Guggenheim’s Venetian gallery in 2001. In June 2015, the Guggenheim announced the designs for a new branch in Helsinki, a gallery reminiscent of a lighthouse conceived by Moreau Kusunoki Architectes.
The Guggenheim Museum remains dedicated to preserving and displaying modern and contemporary art for local and global audiences, all while demonstrating a strong affinity for innovation. From Frank Lloyd Wright’s soaring spirals to the steel sheaths of the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum’s architecture appears to do just that.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street) New York, NY, USA +1 212 423 3618

The New York Guggenheim's Avant Garde Beginnings

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