Sections / Intersections. 25 Years of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection
09.08.2022 - 02.26.2023
In 2022, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an ambitious presentation of works from the permanent collection that unfolds throughout the galleries museum-wide.
The exhibition is conceived as a large triptych, constructed through three thematic approaches that are placed in dialogue with one another, as a means to rediscover works that have historically defined both the interior and the exterior of the Museum. Thus, in Sections/Intersections, each floor of the building offers a section of the collection in three primary axes: Material Life, Unfolding Narratives, and Marking History. For the first time, this exhibition offers a panoramic view of the wealth of the cultural and artistic holdings the Museum has acquired through the present day. Also in celebration of the Museum’s 25th Anniversary is an exceptional installation by Yayoi Kusama on view at Gallery 103.
Curators: Lekha Hileman Waitoller, Manuel Cirauqui, Geaninne Gutiérrez-Guimarães, Lucía Agirre, Maite Borjabad
El Anatsui
Rising Sea, 2019
Aluminum and copper wire
800 x 1400 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Virtual Tour
The Exhibition
Material Life
September 8, 2022 – January 22, 2023
Mona Hatoum
Home , 1999
Wood, galvanized steel, stainless steel, electric wire, crocodile clips, light bulbs, computerized dimmer switch, amplifier, and speakers
76.2 x 198.1 x 73.7 cm (table). Overall dimensions vary with installation
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Doris Salcedo
Untitled , 2008
Wood, metal, and concrete
78 x 247 x 121 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Marking History
September 20, 2022 - January 22, 2023
Cristina Iglesias
Untitled (Jealousy II) (Sin título (Celosía II)), 1997
Wood, resin, and bronze powder
274 X 270 X 251.5 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Ellsworth Kelly
Yellow Curve I, 1972
Oil on canvas
170.2 x 341 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
© Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Unfolding Narratives
October 19, 2022 – February 26, 2023
Anselm Kiefer
Only with Wind, Time, and Sound (Nur mit Wind, mit Zeit und mit Klang), 1997
Acrylic and emulsion on canvas
473 x 944 x 22 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Joseph Beuys
Lightning with Stag in Its Glare (Blitzschlag mit Lichtschein auf Hirsch), 1958–85
Bronze, iron, and aluminum
39 parts, overall dimensions variable
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity Mirrored Room — A Wish for Human Happiness
Calling from Beyond the Universe, 2020
Mirrored glass, wood, LED lighting system, metal, and acrylic panel
Ed. Nr.: 1/5
293.7 × 417 × 417 cm
Courtesy Ota Fine Arts
©YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity Mirrored Room — A Wish for Human Happiness
Calling from Beyond the Universe, 2020
Mirrored glass, wood, LED lighting system, metal, and acrylic panel
Ed. Nr.: 1/5
293.7 × 417 × 417 cm
Courtesy Ota Fine Arts
©YAYOI KUSAMA
Did you
know that...?
If materials could talk…
The Didaktika project for Sections/Intersections – the exhibition organized by the Museum to celebrate its 25th anniversary –Mona Hatoum
Out of context and laid on a rolling table, the kitchen appliances that make Home by Mona Hatoum (b. 1952) –a meat mincer, a grater, a vegetable slicer, a meat mallet, etc.
Jannis Kounellis
Jannis Kounellis (1936–2017), a remarkable member of Arte Povera, thinks of unconventional materials as those that are readily accessible, often as waste, and can usually be found in dumps, woods or industrial containers.
Asier Mendizabal
One of the key elements of Asier Mendizabal’s Nom de guerre is fire –a symbol with overlapping ancestral, social, and political meanings.
Yoko Ono
In Japanese temples, you can often see scraps of paper hanging from trees. From a distance, they look like hundreds of blooming flowers, but close up, they are wishes written by worshippers.
If Walls Could Talk…
As part of the Didaktika project, the Museum designs educational spaces and organizes complementary activities for the exhibitions, both in the galleries and online
El Anatsui
In 1998, El Anatsui (1944), Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria, began to use bottle caps sourced from alcohol recycling stations in his works.
Jenny Holzer
In 1997, Jenny Holzer (1950) was asked to create a work for a space of her choice in the Museum. She chose gallery 101 (next to the Atrium)
Jeff Koons
In his Celebration series, Jeff Koons (1955) reimagines common items in ultra-polished stainless steel, so that the sculptures’ bright colorful finishes reflect everything around them
Sol Lewitt
Conceptual artist Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) made his wall paintings following a series of instructions woven into the nature of the works themselves
If Walls Could Talk…
As part of the Didaktika project, the Museum designs educational spaces and organizes complementary activities for the exhibitions, both in the galleries and onlineJoseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys (b. 1921; d. 1986) was always fascinated by the forces of nature, energy, and the individual’s creativity. He advocated and practiced teaching art based on freedom
Christian Boltanski
Photographs feature in the works of Christian Boltanski (b. 1944; d. 2021). Since the late 1960s, Boltanski has worked with photographs taken from everyday sources
Francesco Clemente
An interest in the body, the connection with the spiritual plane, astrology, and the influence of Indian culture can all be seen in the works of Francesco Clemente (b. 1952).
