Art and emotions route for families
Welcome to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao!
You are going to see works of art that will amaze you. You’ll feel all kinds of emotions and we trust that they will leave you feeling really good. Besides, this building is amazing!
MAP
Reflective baubles
Water feature by the river
Head into the Museum, cross the Atrium and then out onto the terrace. From here, you’ll be able to see this striking sculpture.
Anish Kapoor creates these kinds of art works for specific places, such as this water feature, taking his inspiration from the surrounding architecture.
How are those baubles floating on the water? It’s like a magic trick! In fact, they are attached to vertical bars that act as guides. To achieve this, the artist used science: he had to study a lot, test and try out his ideas, and apply some very complex scientific knowledge to create this piece.
According to this artist, the sculpture is always changing, breaking, regenerating, splitting into lots of different parts…
For him, your body and your gaze are very important. What do you see in those reflective baubles and how do they make you feel?
Anish Kapoor
Tall Tree and the Eye, 2009
Stainless steel and carbon steel
1297 x 442 x 440 cm
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Like velvet
Gallery 104, first floor
Did you know that Richard Serra is one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century?
People from all over the world come to the museum just to see this piece, and you…are already here!
These giant sculptures are made of a type of steel that, thanks to its chemical composition, rusts over time, creating a thin layer like velvet (called a patina) that protects the material and makes the artwork very resistant.
The sculptures are made up of huge sheets of steel, perfectly balanced on the floor thanks to their weight and the engineering work previously carried out by the artist and the teams he works with. So, don’t worry… they’re not going to fall!
Walk among the sculptures, enter a spiral or ellipse, sit quietly in the center and look around. How do you feel? What about your companions?
Richard Serra
The Matter of Time, 1994- 2005
Weathering steel
Variable dimensions
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Your message of peace
Second floor terrace
Yoko Ono is a Japanese artist with many different interests: art, film, music… And she approaches everything like an experiment!
She is also an activist for peace, a defender of human rights, and a feminist.
Wish Tree for Bilbao is a work of art where you can write and hang wishes for ‘peace’ on certain important dates for the artist. At other times, you just have to whisper them to the tree!
Come and take part. Just make sure you’re always being gentle and mindful.
Yoko Ono
Wish Tree for Bilbao, 1996/2014
Handwritten and framed text, olive tree, soil, wooden pot, easel, labels, and pens
Variable dimensions
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Listening to the sea
Gallery 304, third floor
El Anatsui is an artist from Ghana who lives in Nigeria, and he is well known for his very special metal sculptures.
How do you think he creates them?
This artist is concerned about climate change. Rising Sea warns us that nature and civilizations can undergo sudden changes through this large-scale piece that represents how the sea can gradually rise.
Think of all the stories the hundreds of elements that make up this sculpture might tell us. And what about that rising, silvery sea?
El Anatsui
Mar creciente (Rising Sea), 2019
Aluminio y alambre de cobre
800 x 1400 cm
Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
How many faces do you see?
Gallery 303, third floor
Andy Warhol used a variety of images as the subject of his artworks, including famous people and all kinds of everyday objects: food, cleaning products…
In this picture, Warhol portrays Marilyn Monroe, an actress, singer, and model who was tremendously famous, brave, and a true icon in her time.
He depicted her face 150 times! How did he do that? Through the use of silkscreen printing, a technique used to transfer images drawn or traced with ink from a mesh-covered template to a surface, such as canvas.
Andy Warhol
One Hundred and Fifty Multicolored Marilyns, 1979
Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas
201 x 1,055 x 6 cm
ARTETIK: From the Art
Corridor next to gallery 303
What do you feel when you look at a work of art? Don’t miss the digital experience ARTETIK: From the Art!
Choose your favorite work of art from the Museum Collection; select the emotion it makes you feel, and you’ll see the result. Fascinating!
Experience art with the Museum Collection and share your emotions!
This project is a collaboration between the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Google Arts & Culture.
This tour has now come to an end, and these are just a few examples of how art can make you feel. Let yourself be carried away. Continue visiting the Museum with your family and experience new emotions. You’ll be amazed!
We hope you have enjoyed and felt good about this experience. See you soon!