Artist Mark Leckey presents a site-specific installation at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao as part of the venue's in situ series. This multimedia work draws inspiration from historic painting, shifting from a two-dimensional image into a sculptural form. Visitors can observe how the gallery is animated by a cycle of sound and light to explore themes of collective memory and technology.
Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for in situ: Mark Leckey. And the City Stood in its Brightness at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao
This exhibition is the second installment of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's 'in situ' series, featuring a site-specific installation by artist Mark Leckey. The work explores the convergence of physical space, sound, and light to reflect on themes of collective memory, nostalgia, and the impact of technology on identity.
In this site-specific installation, Mark Leckey creates a dialogue with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's architecture, drawing inspiration from Sassetta’s 1424 painting 'City by the Sea.' By moving from a two-dimensional image to a sculptural form, Leckey explores the threshold between the real and the imaginary, questioning how historical imagery and technology shape our shared sense of belonging. The installation is animated by a six-minute loop of sound and light that dictates a narrative arc of transformation and instability, effectively turning the sculpture into a flickering apparition within the gallery. Leckey, who grew up in the shadow of industrial collapse in Britain, utilizes the installation to probe the ways media and mass culture construct our reality. The shifting cycle of light and the layered ambient soundtrack—composed of found audio, music, and fragmented speech—immerse the viewer in a charged, temporal space. This environment oscillates between revelation and erasure, inviting visitors to encounter a work that is at once immediate, uncanny, and transcendent.
The exhibition is included with general museum admission. Visitors are encouraged to check the official museum website for booking details and further information regarding museum access and membership benefits for exclusive resources like audio guides and event recordings.
Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for in situ: Mark Leckey. And the City Stood in its Brightness at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao
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