Guggenheim Bilbao Museum
We have supported the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao since its inception
The noteworthy patronage work of the company is materialised in a very special way with its permanent collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , of which it has been its sponsor since it was opened. According to such a commitment, Iberdrola has supported different exhibitions and initiatives of the Guggenheim museum.
"The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was the beginning of an urban and architectural regeneration. October 1997 will be marked in the calendar as a symbolic milestone of that reinvention. And the need to move forward, to forge the future anew, spread throughout the city. In 2012 Torre Iberdrola was inaugurated, another reflection of the 'new Bilbao'."
Rafael Orbegozo Guzmán
Advisor to the President
Patronage as a driving force behind the cultural and social impact of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Support for cultural initiatives such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao demonstrates how collaboration between cultural institutions and committed companies can generate a lasting positive impact on society. By promoting art and culture, innovation, social cohesion and the international profile of local areas are fostered.
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Bilbao’s transformation and international profile
The Guggenheim Bilbao has become a symbol of urban regeneration and the city’s international standing through culture. Patronage contributes to this momentum.
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Access to culture and connection with society
Support for cultural initiatives helps bring art to diverse audiences through exhibitions, educational activities and outreach programmes.
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Art and reflection on contemporary challenges
Art patronage helps to promote initiatives that connect artistic creation with issues such as sustainability, innovation and social change.
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Promoting cultural and creative development
Collaboration with cultural institutions fosters the dynamism of the artistic and creative ecosystem, strengthening the region’s cultural appeal.
We are celebrating our 125-year history with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
At the Iberdrola Group, we are celebrating our 125th anniversary, a milestone on the long journey that has led us to become Europe’s leading electricity company by market capitalisation and one of the two largest in the world. To mark the occasion, we have organised an extensive programme of activities, including art exhibitions and initiatives in partnership with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Iberdrola’s involvement with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: exhibitions and initiatives
At Iberdrola, we continue to support cultural projects that address major contemporary challenges: sustainability, diversity, innovation and access to culture through a range of exhibitions and initiatives.
'Arts of the Earth'
Exhibition dates: 5 December 2025 – 3 May 2026
An ambitious exhibition that analyses the transformation of environmental art since 1970, through works by different generations and cultural backgrounds, in response to an urgent environmental crisis. Learn more about ‘Arts of the Earth’ exhibition, sponsored by Iberdrola, in this interview with its curator Manuel Cirauqui.
'Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to now'
Exhibition dates: 27 June 2023 – 8 October 2023
The Japanese artist and writer is one of the leading figures on the contemporary art scene. For this reason, the Guggenheim Museum brought together almost 200 of her works, the largest exhibition of the artist's work in Spain in the last decade. Discover more about this artist in this interview with LucÃa Agirre, the curator of the exhibition.
Portrait, 2015. Yayoi Kusama.
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‘Motion. Autos, art, architecture’
Exhibition dates: 8 April 2022 – 18 September 2022
The renowned British architect Norman Foster landed at the Guggenheim Museum with 'Motion. Cars, Art, Architecture', an exhibition exploring the relevance of the automobile in relation to the history of art, architecture and design in the last century. Foster explains what the exhibition means to him in this interview.
The exhibition, sponsored by Iberdrola, presented a selection of 38 iconic and unusual vehicles along with some 300 pieces including paintings and sculptures by different artists, photographs and audiovisual content, sketchbooks and models by some of the most important architects and designers of the last century.
With this integrative perspective, the exhibition challenged the separation between the different disciplines and raises possible connections. Some of the works on display came from the Foster family's personal collection, which was joined by a notable selection of institutional and private loans from European and American collections.
'Alice Neel: People come first'
Exhibition dates: 17 September 2021 – 6 February 2022
The American artist Alice Neel portrayed the social and political background of her time, as well as motherhood, loss and nudity. The exhibition Alice Neel: People Come First, her first retrospective in Spain, was present at the Guggenheim Bilbao until 6 February 2022.
'Bilbao and painting'
Exhibition dates: 29 January 2021 – 29 August 2021
Nearly thirty works depicting scenes from the life and customs of the Bilbao town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries could be seen at the museum. 'Bilbao and painting' exhibition, curated by Kosme de Barañano and sponsored by Iberdrola, brought together different painters from the period who, through brushstrokes imbued with French impressionism and the latest contemporary styles, reflect the sweeping modernisation the city underwent.
'Olafur Eliasson. In real life'
Exhibition dates: 14 February 2020 – 11 April 2021
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson landed at the Guggenheim, in collaboration with Iberdrola, with a multimedia proposal that encouraged the viewer to reflect on their understanding and perception of the physical world around us.
The exhibition 'Olafur Eliasson. In real life', which could be visited from 14 February 2020 to 11 April 2021, drew our attention to some of the most urgent issues of today through pieces created between 1990 and 2020 — sculptures, photographs, paintings and installations that play with reflections and colour — that question the way we perceive and function in our surroundings. For this, he uses materials such as moss, water, glacier ice, fog, light or reflective metals.
'Masterpieces of Kunsthalle Bremen: from Delacroix to Beckmann'
Exhibition dates: 25 October 2019 – 16 February 2020
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was playing host to 'Masterpieces of the Kunsthalle Bremen: from Delacroix to Beckmann' External link, opens in new window., an Iberdrola-sponsored exhibition that tells the history of this German art gallery and its early dedication to modern art, and highlights the close links that existed between the German and French art of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The exhibition reflected the unique history and artistic discourse of this museum opened in 1894 and renowned for its solid civic engagement, the intense relationship between private collecting and institutional tutelage, as well as its early involvement with professional research and the promotion of modern art.
'A Look Back: Giorgio Morandi and the Old Masters'
Exhibition dates: 12 April 2019 – 6 October 2019
On April 2019, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao presented 'A Backward Glance: Giorgio Morandi and the Old Masters', an extensive journey through the work of one of the great 20th-century Italian painters that revealed the relationships between his still life paintings and some of his main influences in the history of art.
Sponsored by Iberdrola, this exhibition brought together for the first time a wide selection of Morandi's exceptional paintings and some of the works of the Old Masters that influenced his artistic technique throughout four decades, from the interwar period until the beginning of the 1960s.
'Alberto Giacometti. A retrospective'
Exhibition dates: 19 October 2018 – 24 February 2019
The Guggenheim Bilbao hosted the exhibition 'Alberto Giacometti. A Retrospective' until 24 February 2019, dedicated to one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and one of the leading sculptors in history.
Organised by the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum and the Giacometti Foundation in Paris and sponsored by Iberdrola, the exhibition brought together more than 200 sculptures, paintings and drawings that synthesise more than four decades of the brilliant Swiss artist's career. From his first works linked to Cubism and Surrealism to his stylised and rugged multi-scale figures associated with a more mature stage.
Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) always impregnated his creations with great depth and reflection. The human figure is one of his main themes and many of his works were inspired by the people around him, especially his brother Diego, his wife Annette, his friends and his lovers. You can view their exhibition catalogue here [PDF] (Spanish version).
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On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition and coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Iberdrola provided free admission to the museum on 20 and 21 October.
'Bill Viola. Retrospective'
Exhibition dates: 30 June 2017 – 9 November 2017
Bill Viola's artwork (Nueva York, 1951) returned to the Bilbao's museum more than a decade later with a complete tour of his career, External link, opens in new window. pioneer in the development of video art.
'Going Forth By Day', 2002. Video and sound installation. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF]
The retrospective revealed the evolution of Viola's work over the course of 40 years of career and the transformation of his language, that matches with the revolutionary development of the technology and audiovisual techniques. He has been incorporating the advances progressively into his creative productions.
'Reflections'
Dates of the show: 11 October 2017 – 14 October 2017
To commemorate the 20 years of existence of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the emblematic Frank Gehry building became the canvas for an impressive artistic interpretation thanks to Reflections, a free large-scale video mapping performance, with the collaboration of Iberdrola. The initiative, open and free to the public, two decades of history and creativity in Bilbao through light, texture and movement.
'Francis Bacon: from Picasso to Velázquez'
Exhibition dates: 30 September 2016 – 8 January 2017
Iberdrola sponsored the exhibition 'Francis Bacon: from Picasso to Velázquez', which gathered a valuable selection of about 80 works valued among the most important of the British artist, along with many works just shown previously, accompanied by the work of different classical masters that influenced his career.
The exhibition explored the footprint left by the Spanish and French cultures in Bacon's work, a fervent francophile and a great expert in the art of the Spanish classical masters such as Velázquez, Zurbarán, El Greco or Goya. You can view the exhibition catalogue [PDF] (Spanish version) here.
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In addition, with the goal of making art accessible to everyone, the company sponsored the first open door days of the Guggenheim. This is the first time a private entity has allowed visitors to enter for free, encouraging everyone to visit the museum in Bilbao.
