I’m a card carrying hater of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. I feel that the spiraling Frank Lloyd Wright design detracts from the art on view and can’t stand how the permanent collection is ghettoized in side galleries. I don’t like Frank Gehry much either and I am more interested in conceptual art and painting than sculpture. These three points would be a good reason to skip the Guggenheim Bilbao with its extensive sculpture collection and high concept building designed by Frank Gehry, however it was raining and rain spells a crappy beach day. We set off to Bilbao slightly bored and with low expectations which were immediately dissuaded as soon as we pulled into the city.

Bilbao has undergone major urban renewal and has pumped massive amounts of money into building projects. In addition the Guggenheim it is also home to a footbridge designed by Santiago Calatrava (Milwaukee Museum of Art & Turning Torso in Malmo) and the Euskalunda Palace, a music hall and congress.

I thought Gehry’s building was stunning. That means a lot coming from me a dyed in the wool Gehry hater. It is a graceful, swooping edifice artfully located on the waterfront and set apart on one side by a moat. The curatorial devotion to sculpture is strong and pieces by Louis Bourgeois and Jeff Koons (including his gigantic flower Puppy!) are installed on the exterior of the building.

Inside the permanent collection boasts a large collection of Richard Serra sculptures including The Torqued Spiral among others. Also on view is an Anselm Kiefer retrospective, Albrecht Dürer woodcuts, and an exhibition mapping Basque art.

The most striking aspect of this high concept building is that it truly serves the art that is exhibited therein and vice versa. There is so much room for failure with these kinds of buildings, so it was refreshing and dare I say inspiring that Gehry and the Guggenheim pulled it off. Bilbao is a perfect setting for this institution because even the small details of its urban infrastructure (ie bridges, lights, and rail system) are sculpturally elegant and sophisticated. Not only does Gehry’s building serve the art it houses, but it is the perfect building for the city it calls home.