The Guggenheim Museum | Ray and Shelley's Retirement Adventures

We bought tickets to go to the Guggenheim museum. The tickets were 16 euros each and provided a specific time for entry into the museum. We went a bit early and managed to get in before our selected time by approximately 30 minutes.

Shelley using the hand-held audio device issued by the museum

The inside of the museum is very unique and interesting. In the main atrium area of the museum there was a large flowing material which looked similar to a plant. It is called the “Egeria”, and is made of different fabrics, colours and textures. It flows throughout the ceiling and walking areas.

a section of the Egeria art exhibit in the atrium of the Guggenheim museum

A large section of the Egeria art exhibit hanging in the centre of the atrium area

Shelley and Ray on a walkway in the atrium of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

The “Egeria” exhibit was created by Joana Vasconcelos a reputed Portuguese artist. She was also one of the featured artist in the museum with her exhibit show entitled “I’m your mirror”

We went through her exhibits and were astonished by some of her art. In particular the “Call Centre” which was made up entirely of old style dial telephones. The telephones are combined to create a black handgun. It was surprising to hear the telephones playing an electo-acoustic symphony using the bells in the telephone.

The Call Center exhibit by Joana Vasconcelos in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

We also came across Joana Vasconcelos’s Marilyn, from 2011. It is a pair of large stiletto shoes that on closer inspection are composed of pots and pans.

Joana Vasconcelos art piece entitled Marilyn, a pair of large stiletto shoes made of pots and pans.

There were many unique and interesting pieces at the museum. One exhibit which was extremely large and different was created by Richard Serra. It was entitled “The Matter of Time”

The exhibit was so large that an entire wing of the museum housed the exhibit. It was made using weathered steel and consisted of eight different sculptures. The steel was quite thick and each piece was approximately 20 feet hight.

The Matter of Time, sculptures at the Guggenheim museum

sculptures of “The Matter of Time” in the Guggenheim museum

We walked through the different sculptures and each one was a different. The walls of each one of the sculptures were slanted in different ways. After walking through the sculptures it made us feel slightly dizzy and disoriented. It was a weird feeling because we had just walked through the sculptures.

Shelley and Ray in the centre of one of “The Matter of Time” sculptures

We spent most of the day in the museum exploring the different exhibits. It was a very enjoyable and a great experience.

“Ados eta egun handia”

We had the chance to go to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The museum building itself is an amazing piece of architecture and art.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain

We walked around the building admiring the different shapes and art pieces on display outside.

Large flower puppy designed by Jeff Koons at the main entrance area of the Guggenheim museum

There was an area beside the museum which had a pond with a fog drifting above the water. It was called the “fog Sculpture” designed by Fujiko Nakaya, and was created using 1,000 fog nozzles and a high-pressure pump system.

Fog Sculpture designed by Fujiko Nakaya at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao

There was also some tulips on display outside of the museum. These tulips were large and made with chromium stainless steel and had a transparent colour coating.

Tulip sculpture designed by Jeff Koons outside of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao

Ray’s reflection in the tulip taking the photo.

We came across a large “Spider” which was on the walkway between the river and the museum.

Large spider exhibit on the sidewalk beside the Guggenheim Museum

The building is very large and took quite awhile to walk around the parameter. As we came to the back side of the museum we found a large “diamond ring” in the pound.

Ray in front of the “diamond Ring” at the Guggenheim Museum

Engagement Diamond ring created by Joana Vasconcelos outside of the Guggenheim museum

The engagement ring was made of gilded wheel rims and glass whisky tumblers for the diamond, it was quite impressive.

The building itself was multi-shaped and had a very distinguished look. The walls were curved and covered in a shiny metal which made the building look more like a piece of art than a museum.

A view of one of the wall areas of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa

Ray in front of the walls of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

The outside of the Guggenheim was such a great thing to experience. We enjoyed seeing the large art pieces and the building architecture but the inside is amazing and warrants a blog post of its own.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!