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Lot Essay
cf. R. C. Miller, Modern Design 1890-1990 in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, pp. 282-3 for an example of a Fish Lamp;
F. Dal Co and K. W. Foster, Frank Gehry: The Complete Works, New York, 1998, pp. 24, 278-279, 293 for examples of Fish Lamps, p. 279 for study drawings for a Fish Lamp of this model;
J. F. Ragheb (ed.), Frank Gehry, Architect, New York, 2001, p. 81 for examples of Fish Lamps.
Frank Gehry created his first legendary Fish Lamp for the exhibition, "Surface & Ornament," organized by the Formica Corporation to promote their new product ColorCore and exhibited at Neocon, the design trade exposition at Chicago's Merchandise Mart in 1983. With New City Editions, Gehry went on to produce approximately three dozen fish lamps, including the present lamp, made for an exhibition at Metro Pictures Gallery in New York.
The fish is, for Gehry, a symbolic image with numerous complex associations and has figured prominently in his work. In the fish there is perfect symbiosis between skin and structure; between form and function: an inspirational paring for Gehry, one which informs his work. Indeed, the dynamic shapes of his buildings have been related to fish, often vigorously swimming in the water.
Gehry's Fish Lamps have been presented in several museum exhibitions including, High Style: Twentieth-Century American Design, at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1986 and The Architecture of Frank Gehry at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis in 1986.
F. Dal Co and K. W. Foster, Frank Gehry: The Complete Works, New York, 1998, pp. 24, 278-279, 293 for examples of Fish Lamps, p. 279 for study drawings for a Fish Lamp of this model;
J. F. Ragheb (ed.), Frank Gehry, Architect, New York, 2001, p. 81 for examples of Fish Lamps.
Frank Gehry created his first legendary Fish Lamp for the exhibition, "Surface & Ornament," organized by the Formica Corporation to promote their new product ColorCore and exhibited at Neocon, the design trade exposition at Chicago's Merchandise Mart in 1983. With New City Editions, Gehry went on to produce approximately three dozen fish lamps, including the present lamp, made for an exhibition at Metro Pictures Gallery in New York.
The fish is, for Gehry, a symbolic image with numerous complex associations and has figured prominently in his work. In the fish there is perfect symbiosis between skin and structure; between form and function: an inspirational paring for Gehry, one which informs his work. Indeed, the dynamic shapes of his buildings have been related to fish, often vigorously swimming in the water.
Gehry's Fish Lamps have been presented in several museum exhibitions including, High Style: Twentieth-Century American Design, at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1986 and The Architecture of Frank Gehry at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis in 1986.