Guarding the Guggenheim.

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is one of the largest museums in Spain and the focal point of any visit to Bilbao. It was opened in 1997 and generates significant income for the Basque Government from tourist taxes. It is a museum of contemporary art but for me it is the astounding architecture that won me.

A building clad in titanium, it is a masterpiece of contemporary architecture that has won acclaim world wide.

I have to say that contemporary art is not something I can get excited about. So to avoid the risk of sounding like an uneducated heathen I will refrain from commenting too much on the individual artwork. But in this environment of the masterpiece building, the collection as a whole feels right.

I will try to bring you the magnificence of the building as well as some of its arty inhabitants.

The huge and unique bridge.

We were too late to buy tickets on line as they were sold out so we decided to line up early before the 10am opening and beg for tickets. At 9.30 we were 20th in line. This is the line by 9.50 and twice as big by 11am. It seems like we all got in eventually.

The scale of the building is very impressive. It is huge with titanium and glass going in all directions.

Inside at last.

Our first exhibit was the Infinity Mirror Room by Yayoi Kusama is titled A Wish for Human Happiness Calling from Beyond the Universe. It is ‘an immersive experience that reflects Kusama’s hallucinations’.

No further comment other than it was a hell of a light show.

Andy Warhol. ‘One Hundred and Fifty Multicoloured Marilyns’

The Crying Clown

The purple canvas was created by dragging naked women over the artwork.

This was an impressive if somewhat perplexing piece, created by sewing with copper wire, metal tags from drink bottles.

The sculptures outside the building are amazing, starting with the flower dog at the front.

The giant spider.

A fog generated over the reflecting pool from under the bridge walkway.

So that is the Guggenheim. Regardless of what you think of contemporary art and architecture, this is one of the most fascinating and amazing museums you will ever visit. Hope you get there one day.

David & Collette