“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”
- Frank Gehry an internationally renowned architect

Being immersed in the busy environment in New York for a short period of time is a spiritual SPA for me because I can always meet interesting new and old friends here to have quality conversations. I have been living in Vancouver village for so long. For me, these conversations which catalyse and stimulate my thinking are good for my personal improvement.

I met Thomas Krens again in lower Manhattan. It seems that his offices are everywhere. My dear old friend with so many innovative and creative ideas who is never limited by age still travels around the world for his art and museum projects.

“The store has all sorts of objects, but every object is charged with a strong story and human connection”

This time in New York, he was high in spirit and talked a lot of numbers. I could barely notice that he just finished a trip to Spain because there was no sign of jet lag or tiredness. This is the best motivation for my trip to New York. Our conversation begins with the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Guggenheim Museum in Spain

The Miracle of Bilbao

This art gallery located next to the River Nervión in Spain has been opening for 25 years since 1997. The unique architectural design of the building creates special visual effects from the inside to the outside, making it a famous landmark and attraction in Bilbao.

As the "chain museum" of Guggenheim, it also hosts world-class art exhibitions and holds precious collections. The literary and artistic atmosphere there have already attracted many tourists to come.

Since its opening, the total number of visitors has reached 25 million, with an average of 1 million visitors per year. The economic benefits brought by these tourists have greatly helped the transformation and development of Bilbao.

The integration of architecture and art has created the miracle of Bilbao, bringing this city which was once in decline in the late 20th century back to the international stage. If you want to know more about the story of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, you can read my previous articles:

Thomas Krens, an Art "Adventurer"

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The Best Life Is Never Limited by Age

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25th Anniversary

Art Collection Exhibitions and Events

In 2022, in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this legendary museum in a unique way, a series of exciting activities have been held.

"Immersion" 25th Anniversary

In December, the gallery will host an immersive art performance, "Immersions”. By using large-scale mapping projections combined with light and sound, it allows visitors to immerse into the art space, as if they are a part of the art, breaking the boundary between art and visitors.

Sections / Intersections

The entire museum will be used for displaying its precious collections presented in the form of a large-scale triptych with three correlated themes: Material Life, Unfolding Narratives, and Marking History, allowing the public to take an overall view of the museum's art collection since the opening and to rediscover the works that define the interior and exterior of the museum.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, there is a special exhibition of Yayoi Kusama as well.

In the past 20 years, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has attracted countless tourists through its architecture and art collections and has opened a new chapter of Bilbao in history. And Thomas Krens is the behind-the-scenes hero who contributed a lot to the success of the project.

Thomas Krens

An art curator who goes beyond boundaries

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is just one of the projects carried out by Thomas Krens. During his time at the Guggenheim Foundation, he expanded the Guggenheim Museum from the United States to overseas establishing branches in Europe and Abu Dhabi (which is under construction). He also contributed to holding more than 292 exhibitions for the museums. His forward-thinking and global vision brings us surprises and new experiences one after another.

Abu Dhabi Guggenheim Museum concept drawing

“New museums will be part of the global network. They will be interconnected.”

— Thomas Krens

In Thomas Krens’s vision, museums do not exist solely, but they are inheritance which will keep influencing the world economy and culture. And this idea is perfectly shown in……

Thomas new project

Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture

“Extreme” means...

Extreme joy

Extreme scale

Extreme motion

Extreme point of vision

EMRCA is another new project led by Thomas Krens. It is the centrepiece of the North Adams cultural comprehensive plan and aims to create a No. 1 cultural centre in the US. In this large-scale project, Thomas Krens once again breaks the tradition and goes beyond boundaries. An immersive experience led by high technology will showcase American railway culture and post-industrial architecture.

At the same time, it combines the concept of a museum and theme park together to provide a true experience of the 21st century. Iconic buildings with excellent exhibition design make them an architectural wonder. The use of the internet realises “Internet +”, positions the global market and creates a new dimension of museum management.

In his new vision, "the industry of the future in this valley in northwest Massachusetts will be focused on culture, tourism, education, and technology, and not on the return of manufacturing. "

Highlighted by popular art, profit-oriented business models, and architectural wonders, the project will create 1,400 permanent jobs, generate approximately $120 million in economic activity, and attract more than 1 million visitors, driving the development of the local community.

Interesting people and amazing coworkers

Thomas talked about meeting his old friend Frank Gehry in Bilbao. The 93-year-old Frank has a little complaint about Thomas because he has not been given a new project for a while.

Frank Gehry

An architect who breaks the rules

“An architect who breaks the “I don’t want to do architecture that’s dry and dull.”

— Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry has collaborated with Thomas on many projects From the challenging Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, to the revolutionary project EMRCA which is now under construction, you can always find him participating in these innovative projects. He always likes breaking with traditional aesthetics in architecture and challenging our visual limits.

The traditional aesthetics in architecture emphasises order, stability and logic but Frank Gehry's architectural design challenges these aesthetics, like the very modern design of the Dancing House.

Dancing House
Source：Rethinking the future

Its twisted and distorted structure formed a visual contrast with the surrounding classical and ordered buildings. This non-traditional design received a lot of critics at the time, but its peculiar shape later became an internationally well-known landmark and tourist attraction in Prague.

It is just like his project, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, for more than 20 years, which has attracted countless tourists and brightened up the future of Bilbao.

“If you know where it’s going, it’s not worth doing.”

Art beautifies every city while innovation inspires art. Break the rules. Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens, these two international business partners always collaborate together to redefine the relationship between architecture, art exhibitions and communities.

21st century

A new period of globalisation in culture and art

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It was an interesting conversation and I have been thinking about it for a while. Frank, who is now 93 years old, is still working. So how can we slow down, feel depressed and do nothing? Let’s forget about the chaos of the world, cheer up again and continue working!

Partial picture source:
Thomas Krens，Guggenheim Bilbao， Guggenheim，EMRCA

Angela Bi 毕颖

TCT Arte House, Founder

angelabi@tctandco.com

Written on November 3rd, 2022

Chinese Version 中文版

A Wonderful Conversation with Thomas Krens in Manhattan