Titanium clad waves crash ashore. . . . . .
. . . . . .at a bend in the Ria de Bilbao. In the heart of the Basque capital.
Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Gallery. Bilbao's statement of intent.
Brutally industrial : evoking ships' prows, cleaving stormy seas.
Delicately organic : scrolled buds, reaching skyward to bloom.
Bold, tactile and intricately wrought. It stirs the emotions; challenges perspectives.
Yet surprises, with a playful humanity.
Maman, the giant arachnid stalks the riverside terrace.
Her braided bronze sinews (sculpted by Louise Bourgeois) in complete harmony with their surroundings. Life form made metal stands before architecture made animate.
A puppy, formed wholly from flowers, poses obediently in the plaza.
The breeze gently ruffling the petalled fur, of Jeff Koons' outsized creation.
Through mutual good will and fragments of shared language, I had, with the help of the platform attendant, boarded the metro. At Areeta, the Las Arenas stop.
Emerging, fifteen minutes later, at Moyua, in the centre of Bilbao.
Where I join a throng of fellow tourists, sitting around the fountain. Taking our bearings and planning our day.
I walk the lofty halls of the Guggenheim:
Negotiate an exfoliating sheet metal maze.
Tour a celebration of automobile design.
Pause to study sculptures.
Ponder the meanings of paintings.
Watch enchanted, as gallery goers engage with a multi storey scrolling text show, titled ‘Like Beauty In Flames.’(Conceived by Jenny Holzer).
Returning, one more time, before I leave, to Anselm Keifer's mesmeric collage; 'Die brehumten Orden der Nacht' (The Renowned Orders of the Night). Or, to me, simply 'Stargazer.'
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