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  • Published: 13 November 2017
  • ISBN: 9780307946393
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $55.00

Building Art

The Life and Work of Frank Gehry



Here is the first full-fledged critical biography of Frank Gehry, architecture's greatest celebrity. Not only is he one of the few architects to have become a household name, he is also held in the highest esteem by his peers: in 2010, ninety architects, critics, and historians assembled by Vanity Fair designated him "the most important architect of our age." Award-winning journalist Paul Goldberger has maintained a relationship with Gehry for the past forty years, and in these pages he shares his privileged access with us. He discusses the major buildings, from Gehry's own house--an "exploded" Dutch Colonial in Santa Monica--to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which has almost single-handedly transformed contemporary architecture. He considers the influence of Gehry's personal life on his work: his immigrant grandparents, his two marriages, his close relationships to an unusual circle of celebrated clients and friends, his longtime therapist. He analyzes Gehry's carefully crafted self-deprecating persona--and the intense ambition it masks. He examines Gehry's anxieties about fame, and how his "outsider" status as a Los Angeles architect allowed him to experiment in innovative ways. Finally, he discusses how he thinks about and employs technology to change not just the way a building can look but the way architecture itself is practiced. Meticulously researched, written with a passionate yet critical eye, Building Art is certain to become the definitive biography of this peerless artist.

Here, from Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Paul Goldberger, is the first full-fledged critical biography of Frank Gehry, undoubtedly the most famous architect of our time. Goldberger follows Gehry from his humble origins—the son of working-class Jewish immigrants in Toronto—to the heights of his extraordinary career. He explores Gehry’s relationship to Los Angeles, a city that welcomed outsider artists and profoundly shaped him in his formative years. He surveys the full range of his work, from the Bilbao Guggenheim to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. to the architect’s own home in Santa Monica, which galvanized his neighbors and astonished the world. He analyzes his carefully crafted persona, in which an amiable surface masks a driving ambition. And he discusses his use of technology, not just to change the way a building looks, but to revolutionize the very practice of the field. Comprehensive and incisive, Building Art is a sweeping view of a singular artist—and an essential story of architecture’s modern era.  

  • Published: 13 November 2017
  • ISBN: 9780307946393
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $55.00

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Praise for Building Art

  • "Fascinating.... An informative, startling journey into the inner sanctums of modern architecture's power structure." --The New York Times Book Review
  • "An invaluable resource.... If you're intrigued by Frank Gehry...I can't recommend this expansive survey of his life and work too highly." --San Francisco Chronicle
  • "Riveting.... Full of little-known facts about the Pritzker Prize-winner that will surprise the most knowledgable Gehry-philes."--Architectural Digest
  • "Terrifically readable.... Satisfying detail on Gehry's career path and hugely complex personality."--Los Angeles Times
  • "A big biography.... Penetrating.... Revealing." --NPR
  • "Fascinating.... An informative, startling journey into the inner sanctums of modern architecture's power structure." --The New York Times Book Review
  • "An invaluable resource.... If you're intrigued by Frank Gehry...I can't recommend this expansive survey of his life and work too highly." --San Francisco Chronicle
  • "Riveting.... Full of little-known facts about the Pritzker Prize-winner that will surprise the most knowledgable Gehry-philes."--Architectural Digest
  • "Terrifically readable.... Satisfying detail on Gehry's career path and hugely complex personality."--Los Angeles Times
  • "A big biography.... Penetrating.... Revealing." --NPR