Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry
Gehry in 2010
Born
Frank Owen Goldberg

(1929-02-28) February 28, 1929 (age 95)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationArchitect
Spouses
Anita Snyder
(m. 1952; div. 1966)
Berta Isabel Aguilera
(m. 1975)
[1]
Children4
AwardsList of awards
PracticeGehry Partners, LLP
BuildingsList of works
Websitefoga.com

Frank Owen Gehry CC FAIA (/ˈɡɛəri/ GAIR-ee;  Goldberg; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.

His works are considered among the most important of contemporary architecture in the 2010 World Architecture Survey, leading Vanity Fair to call him "the most important architect of our age".[2] He is also the designer of the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.[3]

Gehry is known for his postmodern designs and use of bold, unconventional forms and materials. His most famous works include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. These buildings are characterized by their sculptural, often undulating exteriors and innovative use of materials such as titanium and stainless steel.

Born in Toronto, Gehry moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and established his architectural practice there in 1962. He rose to prominence in the 1970s with his distinctive style that blended everyday materials with complex, dynamic structures. Gehry's approach to architecture has been described as deconstructivist, though he himself resists categorization.

Throughout his career, Gehry has received numerous awards and honors, including the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989, considered the field's highest honor. He has also been awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States. Gehry's influence extends beyond architecture; he has designed furniture, jewelry, and liquor bottles.

  1. ^ "Great modern buildings: Frank Gehry biography". The Guardian. October 8, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  2. ^ Tyrnauer, Matt (June 30, 2010). "Architecture in the Age of Gehry". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  3. ^ for the design, see: "Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial: Design" Archived November 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine