Picture of the Day: Fish by Frank

Frank Gehry's glowing fish were inspired by an accident

Canadian architect Frank Gehry is known for his buildings that defy description because they are in shapes that go against convention.

Over a year ago in Los Angeles I enjoyed checking out the Walt Disney Concert Hall that looked like a mass of silver paper strewn all over the roof.

A lovely touch was the garden that had a rose-shaped fountain made with broken blue and white tiles dedicated to Lillian Disney, wife of Walt. Sadly the building was completed six years after she died, as she pledged $50 million to the project.

Gehry has also made his mark in Hong Kong with Opus One, that were briefly the most expensive flats in the city. There are only 12 units in the building that have great views of the city below.

On a much smaller scale are his fish lamps made from ColorCore formica mounted on a wire frame. Apparently the story is that when Gehry was working on a commission for Formica in the 1980s, he accidentally dropped a piece of ColorCore laminate which shattered and to him the pieces looked like fish scales.

Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong is showing some of fish lamps that glow from within. The shapes of the fish are simultaneously rough and fluid due to the uneven shapes of the material, but the light shining in them give them shape and depth.

Along with the fish were some alligators or were they crocodiles?

Nevertheless the fish were appropriate for Chinese New Year with the saying 年年有鱼 or "May every year end in a surplus".

Frank Gehry: Fish Lamps

Until March 1
Gagosian Gallery

7/F, Pedder Building

12 Pedder Street

Central

gagosian.com