Guggenheim Bilbao Illustrated Art Print

Guggenheim Bilbao Illustrated, Matte & Giclee Art Prints
 
For a simple and quaint town in the hills, dotted with traditional stone houses and flower lined balconies, it must have taken quite some time to get used to the sight of this monstrous block of titanium and glass bang in the middle of the city. It put Bilbao on the global map, sending tourists like me clopping through the cobbled streets, eager to investigate this marvel of architecture.
 
When he got to Bilbao a month before it opened, says Frank Gehry, “I went over the hill and saw it shining there. I thought: ‘What the f*** have I done to these people?’”It has given its name to the “Bilbao effect” – a phenomenon whereby cultural investment plus showy architecture is supposed to equal economic uplift for cities down on their luck. The term, however, has also been employed by critics who have denounced the museum as a symbol of gentrification and cultural imperialism.
 
In this illustration, I wanted to capture how the ship- building draws inspiration from the river that runs alongside... the turns, the curves, the flow!