Goldberg to gold-standard: Frank Gehry in focus with new show and biography
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

On the heels of last year’s widely acclaimed Fondation Louis Vuitton opening, Frank Gehry has been enjoying a bit of a victory lap, with a new biography and exhibition that each take a long view at the life and work of the 86-year-old architect.
In Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry (opens in new tab), Paul Goldberger sympathetically presents Gehry’s story, beginning with his childhood in one of Toronto’s working class neighbourhoods (as Frank Goldberg), moving through his early architectural experiments in Los Angeles (as a moustachioed leftist), and culminating with his project for Bernard Arnault in Paris (as an architectural statesman and Pritzker laureate). While he has tended to be pigeon-holed, over the years, as a formalist starchitect, the Gehry that emerges in Goldberger’s narrative is someone not only committed to the art of architectural form, but also a practitioner with a deeply held conviction about architecture’s responsibility to social concerns.
The author and subject have known each other for over four decades, and the book reflects this personal dimension. For his research, Goldberger interviewed Gehry over the course of months, and the insights and quotes that he includes reveal a reflective and unguarded image of the man. Archival images from Gehry’s life – on a tricycle in Toronto, on the beach with a young Thom Mayne, and aboard his boat 'Foggy' – animate the text.
For those looking for an even more visual presentation of Gehry’s career, LACMA are currently hosting ‘Frank Gehry (opens in new tab)’, a major retrospective that first opened at the Centre Pompidou last year. There, visitors will be able to see over 200 drawings and 60 models, all set in the city so integral to Gehry’s life and work.
Though often considered a formalist starchitect, the Gehry that emerges in the book’s narrative is a man with a deeply held conviction about architecture’s responsibility to social concerns, as well as a practitioner committed to the art of architectural form.
Goldberger interviewed Gehry over the course of months, subsequently revealing a reflective and very personal image of the man.
View of the west elevation of the Frederick R Weisman Art and Teaching Museum.
Final design model for the Fondation Louis Vuitton, 2014–2015 (Paris, France).
Nationale-Nederlanden Building, view from Jiráskovo Street, 1992–1996 (Prague, Czech Republic)
The biography and exhibion represent something of a victory lap for the 86-year-old architect.
Information
‘Frank Gehry’ is on show at LACMA until 20 March 2016
Address
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (opens in new tab)
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Last chance to see: Laure Prouvost's Light Hall commission at National Museum in Oslo
The Turner Prize-winning artist takes over the cavernous space atop Oslo’s new National Museum with an ethereal installation
By Will Jennings • Published
-
In memoriam: Paco Rabanne (1934 – 2023)
Spanish designer Paco Rabanne, known for his visionary ‘Space Age’ fashion and experimental fragrances, has died aged 88
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Zara launches playful beauty line for kids
Mini Artists by Zara Beauty is a new line of kid-friendly face paints and water-soluble nail polishes designed with Diane Kendal
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Frank Gehry’s first UK residential project opens at Battersea Power Station
As Prospect Place at Battersea Power Station opens its doors, we discover the design by Gehry Partners
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Frank Gehry's twisting tower opens in Arles
With references from Van Gogh to craggy rock outcrops, Frank Gehry's latest geometric wonder for Luma Arles campus cuts a futuristic form against the historic Arles skyline
By Elly Parsons • Last updated
-
Frank Gehry’s latest office building at Facebook’s Menlo Park HQ opens
By Harriet Thorpe • Last updated
-
Frank Gehry launches design for the YOLA Center at Inglewood in Los Angeles
By Harriet Thorpe • Last updated
-
Birthday suit: Guggenheim Bilbao is dressed in light to celebrate its 20th anniversary
By Elly Parsons • Last updated
-
Progress report: Frank Gehry on his mammoth Philadelphia Museum of Art renovation
By Stephanie Murg • Last updated
-
New balance: painter James Jean blends life and work in a renovated 1970s Frank Gehry home
By Dominic Bradbury • Last updated
-
Parallel universe: tracing New York’s unbuilt history
By Harriet Thorpe • Last updated