'The Century of Gehry' at Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art
A Gehry Exhibition in the Siza Wing
The Century of Gehry, a major retrospective of Frank O. Gehry's architecture and design, opens on June 12 in the new Álvaro Siza Wing at the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, Portugal.
The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art might not be the most obvious venue for a major retrospective on Frank Gehry—the first after his death last December at the age of 96. After all, back in 2017, the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles acquired the extensive architect of the LA-based architect: thirty years worth of his drawings, models, and other artifacts documenting 283 projects. While the Getty is not hosting The Century of Gehry, it is lending many of the models, sculptures,
drawings, furniture, and other objects for the exhibition in the new Siza Wing at Serralves, which was designed by Álvaro Siza and opened two years ago, an addition to his 1999 original.
A Gehry-Siza connection, though not as strong as a Gehry-Getty connection, nevertheless can be found in the fact the two architects worked together on a masterplan for the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 2001. Though not as famous as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Vitra Design Museum, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, or numerous other Gehry projects, both built and unbuilt, it is fittingly one of the 19 projects on display in the exhibition (see bottom for full list).
“I hoped to see him again at Serralves,” Siza said in a statement, "but, despite his absence, I know that all the rooms in the museum and all the streets in the city will be filled because of him.”
The Century of Gehry is curated by António Choupina, Director of Architecture at the Serralves Foundation, together with Gehry Partners and in collaboration with the Getty. On display from June 12 to December 30, 2026, the exhibition “unfolds across eight thematic chapters,” per a press release from the museum, “following the combination of instinct and intellect in Gehry’s creative process: from the rebellious intimacy of his Santa Monica house to the urban choreography of Loyola Law School, from the fragmented monumentality of the Chiat/Day Offices to the titanium tides of the Guggenheim Bilbao and the musical sails of Walt Disney Concert Hall.”
The exhibition fits into the expansive programming of the Serralves Foundation, which recognizes architecture as a key field alongside contemporary art, cinema, the environment, and critical social issues.
“There’s a before and after Frank Gehry in contemporary architecture. His was a tectonic shift in the way the architectural profession is and will be understood and practiced evermore, simultaneously propelling it into the future and reconnecting it with the past, before he was born in 1929, when art and architecture were one. He was fueled by a community of artists and friends from Los Angeles all the way to Porto, where he connected with Álvaro Siza, a poetic brother whose namesake wing is now able to celebrate Frank Gehry’s life and work. The mission of the Serralves Foundation is to bring the world together around architecture, art and nature, so it is extremely proud to share this all-encompassing vision through The Century of Gehry exhibition, thanks to the unwavering support and collaboration with Gehry Partners and Getty.”
The Century of Gehry, though primarily a presentation of buildings designed by Gehry Partners, also includes the architect's furniture and textile designs. Here is the list of the 19 projects included in the exhibition that opens on Friday:
- Gehry Residence, Santa Monica (California)
- Cardboard Furniture Series
- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (California)
- Chiat/Day Building, Venice, Los Angeles (California)
- Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (Germany)
- Lewis Residence, Lyndhurst (Ohio)
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao (Spain)
- Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (California)
- ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena (California)
- Parque Mayer, Lisbon (Portugal)
- Ferreira de Sá Rug
- Neuer Zollhof, Düsseldorf (Germany)
- DZ Bank, Berlin (Germany)
- Marqués de Riscal, Elciego (Spain)
- Dr Chau Chak Building (UTS), Sydney (Australia)
- Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)
- LUMA, Arles (France)
- 8 Spruce Street, New York (New York)
- Forma at King Street, Toronto (Canada)