Bilbao (Spain), Oct. 18 (EFE).- The Guggenheim Museum in the Spanish city of Bilbao (north), an icon of the architectural avant-garde, celebrates its 25th anniversary with a commemorative exhibition on its own collection and the work of Canadians Frank Gehrym, who designed the building.

The example “Sections/Intersections. 25 years of the Museum’s collection” is a “milestone”; for the first time, all the spaces are dedicated to their own works, underlined today its director, Juan Ignacio Vidarte.

According to Vidarte, the museum has 150 of its own works, which rise to 175 if long-term loans are counted.

Of these, 110 from the collection and 20 on loan are displayed in the commemorative exhibition; It will be inaugurated this Wednesday and will remain open until January 22.

Within the own collection, which covers the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century, 20% correspond to women artists; the vast majority of authors are European and American.

Vidarte clarified that this art center “is not a franchise”, but was created as a “specific and unique museum, which is part of the Guggenheim constellation” and, therefore, its collection aspires to have its own entity.

“We do not want to reproduce the museums of New York or Venice, but rather fill their gaps with unique and referential works; the collection was created with these parameters,” he explained.

The idea of ​​this museum was born on the initiative of the regional and provincial authorities of the Basque Country with the aim of transforming the city economically and culturally to include it in the international artistic circuits.

All the while, the museum’s collection has been revalued by 800 million euros (about $785 million), said Vidarte, who provided data from a 2019 Christie’s auction agency study. .

The museum has received 24.7 million visitors since its opening, more than 60% of foreign origin, and exhibited 18,000 works. EFE

si/jmv/lml/jl/ag

(picture) (video)