Press Release

Gagosian is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by Frank Gehry, the first since his passing in 2025. Opening at the Beverly Hills gallery on May 14, the presentation was realized in collaboration with the artist’s family and designed by the Gehry studio. Among the animal-themed works on display are the life-size sculpture Bear with Us (2014), on loan from the artist’s family; Untitled (Black Crocodile New York) (2023), which was produced in ColorCore Formica and silicone; and Fish on Fire (2023), the last of Gehry’s fish sculptures to be rendered in copper.

Bear with Us portrays the titular mammal in gleaming 316L stainless steel, the intricate contours of the object’s polished metal surface lending it the appearance of crumpled foil. (The sculpture was also the basis for a clutch bag designed by the artist for Louis Vuitton in 2023.) And in A Pair of Snake Lamps (1989), Gehry employs gouache-painted papier-mâché, and illuminates the works to transform their serpentine forms into objects that are at once decorative and functional.

While the celebrated fish sculptures—several examples of which are on view—constitute self-contained works, the “perfect form” of the ancient creature they represent reappears throughout Gehry’s architectural oeuvre, evident in the undulating profiles of such buildings as 2003’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (opening this year). Also featured in the exhibition are ten ink, watercolor, and acrylic works on paper that express the energetic motion of fish in networks of black line and clouds of color.

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About the Artist

The designs of Frank Gehry—one of the most innovative architects working today—grace numerous metropolitan skylines around the world. Known for their deconstructivist approach and creative use of materials, his buildings incorporate a wealth of textures that lend a sense of movement to his dynamic structures. Early in his career, Gehry created both sculpture and furniture, which similarly reflected his concern with inventive forms made from unexpected materials. The Easy Edges (1969–1973) and Experimental Edges (1979–1982) series of chairs and tables were made of industrial corrugated cardboard, while a later Knoll furniture series (1989–1992) was made from pliable bentwood. Gehry was commissioned by the Formica Corporation to use a translucent plastic laminate, ColorCore, in a series of lamps consisting of radiant snake and fish forms (1983–1986). The fish has been a recurring motif in Gehry’s work, recognisable in the undulating, curvilinear forms of his architecture as well as various sculpture projects, including his Fish Sculpture at Vila Olímpica in Barcelona, Spain (1989–1992), and his Standing Glass Fish for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (1986). The first Fish Lamps were shown in Frank Gehry: Unique Lamps in 1984 at the former Robertson Boulevard location of Gagosian in Los Angeles.

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Also Exhibiting at Gagosian

About the Gallery
Gagosian is a global network of art galleries specialising in modern and contemporary art with eighteen exhibition spaces worldwide.
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456 North Camden Drive
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles 456 North Camden Drive
Gagosian
456 North Camden Drive, Los Angeles, United States
+1 310 271 9400
http://gagosian.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 5:30pm
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