Peix by Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry, one of the most celebrated architects of his time, with a Pritzker Prize awarded in 1989, and the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts in 2014, has now officially left his mark on Barcelona with Peix, a colossal fish-shaped sculpture situated by the Barcelona Casino, and with which the city opted to redefine the city’s waterfront. The Olympic Port, the two towers, and now, a work of art weighing in at 56 meters high and 35 across, that looks poised at all times to dive into the waters of the Mediterranean at whose shores it sits.

The makeover began in 1992, with the city’s sweeping transformation in preparation for the Olympic Games, prompting the restoration and revitalization of the city’s coastline for public use. At that time, the Casino was built, the Mapfre Towers went up, and the Olympic Port opened, launching a new leisure and entertainment zone for the residents of Barcelona. Within that context, the Canadian architect behind strikingly singular buildings like the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, opted to design a sculpture that would reflect the city’s Mediterranean and maritime identity.

Created atop a metallic base, the sculpture’s gold stainless steel coating gives the work its beauty and total uniqueness. Depending on the quality of light at play, this outer layer looks like fish scales, refracting light almost iridescently, filling the inanimate object with a sense movement, and making it easily visible from the beaches of Barceloneta. Its interplay with natural sunlight make sunrise and sunset some of the best moments to observe the sculpture and admire the colorful mark it’s made on the city.