Frank Gehry has been fascinated with fish since his childhood when his grandmother would keep live carp from the local market in the bathtub (before cooking them). He has used fish forms in his works at various scales, many of them small scale objects such as lamps which can be worth as much as $100,000 today.
Gehry has also created a number of monumental scale fish sculptures, and here are three of them that I’ve seen on my travels:
Fish Dance, 1987
On a trip to Japan last year, I managed to stop by and see Gehry’s fish sculpture in Kobe. The Gehry design was constructed with the oversight of Tadao Ando. This fish is paired with a cute Gehry structure (fittingly, a seafood restaurant) at a height of 22 meters and constructed from chain link mesh.
Standing Glass Fish, 1986
This monumental fish is 6 meters tall and located at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. The structure is made from timber and with glass scales, the material effect is stunning.
El Peix, 1992
Perhaps Gehry’s most high profile fish sculpture was built for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. At 51 meters long, I suspect this is his largest fish sculpture and it’s a major landmark in Barcelona.
Have you stumbled upon another monumental Frank Gehry fish sculpture? Let me know in the comments!
Images by Jonathan Choe
