The exhibition Frank Gehry: Art + Architecture, opening February 18, 2006 at the Art Gallery of Ontario, explores the unique and dynamic sculptural style of one of the world’s best known architects, Frank Gehry. This exhibition will give the visitor a glimpse into the future of the AGO expansion project within the context of four projects by this celebrated architect.

Organized by the AGO, the exhibition will feature drawings, models and site photographs of four of Gehry’s projects from the past decade. Along with working models generated through the design of the AGO’s expansion project, the exhibition will explore the impact of Gehry’s buildings on the surrounding communities. An audio/visual component featuring interviews and testimonials will illustrate the human quality of Gehry’s designs.

Best known for building curvaceous structures often covered with titanium, his signature metal of choice, Canadian-born Gehry has completed the design phase of the AGO expansion, his first project in Canada during his long and acclaimed career. The four other projects featured in this exhibition have all in some way influenced the AGO’s Transformation project – the Ray and Maria Stata Center, Boston (MIT); Millennium Park Music Pavilion and Great Lawn, Chicago; Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA; and the DZ Bank in Berlin. Frank Gehry: Art + Architecture explores many aspects of Gehry’s creative process and the materials and methods he uses to make his ideas a reality.

“This exhibition will provide an exciting opportunity to witness the creative sensibility and ideas of the greatest architect of the second half of the twentieth century,” says Dennis Reid, the AGO’s director of collections and research and senior curator of Canadian art. “Visitors will be able to experience the scale and feel of Transformation AGO, and to understand its key role in Gehry’s evolution a full two years before its completion.”

Gehry approaches each building as a sculptural object. He has shattered conventional notions of what architecture should be. Gehry believes that architecture is art and is inspired by paintings, sculptures and everyday objects. He uses light, texture and shape to incorporate his building seamlessly into the surrounding environment. The AGO exhibition will give the visitor a glimpse into the unique working process of Gehry and his architectural team. Beyond the often glamorous structure, Gehry assesses the needs of its occupants, the function and the surrounding community, while addressing the aesthetic material and structural qualities of the building itself.

Frank Gehry: Art + Architecture runs from February 18 to May 7, 2006.