Tribute to Frank Gehry’s Artistic Legacy Beyond Architecture
The late Frank Gehry, renowned globally for his distinctive architectural designs such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, also created a range of art pieces inspired by his fascination with animal forms and the creative potential of various materials. His works include representations of fish, bears, crocodiles, and snakes, reflecting his interest in fluidity and form.
Gagosian gallery in Beverly Hills is currently presenting an exhibition titled Frank Gehry, showcasing his non-architectural creations. The show centers primarily on Gehry’s elegant explorations of fish forms, offering visitors moments of beauty and whimsy within the gallery space.
“As soon as I processed Frank’s passing I wanted to do an exhibition that was still in this moment,” said Deborah McLeod, a personal friend of Gehry’s and curator of several of his shows at Gagosian. “It’s a love letter to Frank Gehry.”
While Gehry is celebrated for his monumental sculptural buildings featuring vast stainless steel elements twisted into dynamic angles, these large-scale works share creative roots with the smaller, more intimate pieces displayed at Gagosian. McLeod explained that Gehry regarded the shape of a fish as a “perfect form,” drawing inspiration from the smooth curves of fish to influence his architectural masterpieces, beginning with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
“He said it many times, the fish is the perfect form, and he integrated it into his architecture, of course,” McLeod noted. “One sees it starting in the late 80s, and by the year 2000 we have Bilbao – it’s very nautical, very much like the slashing forms of a fish.”
The exhibition features dozens of fish sculptures, a bear, snakes, and a nearly 10-foot-long crocodile, demonstrating Gehry’s ability to capture the essence and kinetic intelligence of these animals. McLeod highlighted how Gehry’s use of energetic and emotionally resonant animal forms helped infuse his architectural works with warmth and personality.
“The fish is simple and it’s dynamic,” she said. “It implies movement at once glance, and the movement puts emotion into the architecture. This was Frank’s intention – he wanted you to look at a building and get chills.”
Gehry’s pieces also interact thoughtfully with light. His fish lamps are illuminated by LED bulbs selected by the artist himself, with each fish’s scales arranged to intricately scatter light. Depending on whether the pieces are freestanding, pedestaled, or suspended from walls or ceilings, they take on varying visual weights and aspects.
“Gehry was always thinking about the art talking to the architecture,” McLeod said. “My favorite is when the light scatters on the wall next to or behind the art work. The gallery will be darkened, and it will be atmospheric and immersive.”
In a separate gallery, Gehry’s 7-foot-long stainless steel sculpture Bear with Us stands with a posture reminiscent of the brown bear on California’s flag. Positioned to absorb sunlight filtering into the space, the sculpture’s myriad facets reflect dazzling light.
The bear originated from a unique request by one of Gehry’s patrons. McLeod recounted that the patron admired a bear-shaped award Gehry had designed, about the size of a loaf of bread, and expressed a desire for a full-size sculpture. Gehry fulfilled this request, and Larry Gagosian subsequently collaborated with Gehry to produce two editions of the bear sculptures: four in stainless steel and four electroplated in gold. Due to the high fabrication costs, the bears are produced only upon purchase.
Bear with Us provides a compelling contrast to the fish lamps. While the bear’s gallery is illuminated by natural light scattering throughout the room, the fish gallery’s lighting emanates from within the artworks themselves, projecting an ethereal glow into a darkened environment.
Gagosian’s Frank Gehry exhibition also reflects the gallery’s longstanding relationship with the architect. Gehry’s first fish lamps were exhibited at Gagosian’s galleries in 1984 in the show Frank Gehry: Unique Lamps, and numerous exhibitions have followed. McLeod emphasized that the lamps were a significant point of connection between Gehry and his close friend and supporter Larry Gagosian.
In creating his fish lamps, Gehry primarily used Formica, intrigued by how the laminate’s texture resembled fish scales. McLeod recalled Gehry’s “aha” moment when he broke a piece of Formica and saw the rough edges resembling fish scales.
“That was the ground zero moment,” McLeod said. “He saw fish scales and I don’t think he ever stopped.”
The exhibition also honors Gehry’s reputation for kindness and generosity. McLeod highlighted his commitment to pro bono work in low-income communities and his warm engagement with the artistic community.
“I think he sets the bar high for citizenship, for being love forward,” McLeod said. “He wants you to cry when you see those buildings.”
McLeod hopes the exhibition will serve as a gathering place for Gehry’s friends and admirers, helping to channel the grief felt by many in Los Angeles since the architect’s passing. She expressed optimism about the show’s reception.
“There’s been so much interest for this show, he’s really missed. I hope it’s a great experience for everyone. It’s good to come in and commune with his art and see it presented in a fresh way.”
For McLeod, the exhibition is a deeply personal tribute to a close friend she continues to mourn six months after his death. She anticipates further efforts to honor Gehry’s legacy.
“I want his legacy to be vibrant,” she said. “I want him to be here in every way that he can be. I want him to be remembered as the incredibly warm and engaged human being that he was.”
The Frank Gehry exhibition is on display at Gagosian Beverly Hills from 14 May until 27 June.
