One of architecture's contemporary grand masters lives in Santa Monica, South California, US. His name is Frank O. Gehry and his architectural dreaming has been changing the shape of skylines around the world for 30 years.
In Gehry's hands, aluminum becomes as malleable as clay. He has reshaped the cityscape and rounded the jagged edges of the skyline. The Guggenheim Bilbao insured that Gehry's name would become legendary, as his bold design set new standards in modern architecture and gave the Basque city a whole new life as home to one of the world's most famous buildings. Now an exhibition of the architect's works has arrived in Beijing. On Wednesday afternoon, our reporter Wang Yun went to the Millennium Art Museum to look through the master's portfolio.
Driving the Skyline. The slogan encapsulates the driving principle behind Frank .O.Gehry's architectural creations -- progress fueled by the spirit of freedom.
Born in Toronto, Canada in 1929, Frank .O.Gehry immigrated to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The start of his career there coincided with the rising influence of the Modernist design movement in architecture.
Gehry's architecture combines classic style with avant-garde features.
It is unusual for the Millennium Art Museum to host such an avant-garde exhibition. The models and pictures may give the Chinese audience some fresh insights into the works of the world's top architects.
The exhibition absorbed visitors from many different walks of life. Some showed great interest in the architectural designs that will define Beijing's future skyline. Some expressed their belief that Chinese architects should import western ideas, as exemplified by the works of Frank O. Gehry, to make the capital's buildings more modern and aesthetically pleasing.
(CCTV.com April 9, 2004)
