One week after the death of iconic architect Frank Gehry, figures and institutions from across the design world have reflected on Gehry’s contribution to architectural design. As many will know, however, Gehry’s work stretched beyond the design of buildings to encompass fashion, art, products, and other facets of design. Such contributions were recognized in 2016 when Gehry became the first architect to be awarded the Harvard Arts Medal.
Below, we have reflected back on some of Gehry’s most intriguing and evocative contributions beyond architecture, demonstrating the architect’s ability to transcend scale, context, and function.
Fish sculptures, 3 World Trade Center. Image credit: Spencer LaskyFish sculptures, 3 World Trade Center
Located in 3 World Trade Center’s lobby, Gehry’s 2024 piece Untitled (Fish on Fire, Greenwich Street) was a 20-by-7-foot installation born from a yearlong collaboration between Silverstein Properties, Gehry, and the Gagosian Gallery. The project was said to be the “culmination” of his decades-long exploration of the piscine-inspired form and is illuminated in a warm russet hue from the inside so as to highlight the space as a “dynamic” triple-heighted environment.
Read more about the design here.
Ruminations sculptures, Madison Avenue. Image credit: Frank O. Gehry. Photo: Maris Hutchinson. Courtesy GagosianRuminations sculptures, Madison Avenue
In 2024, the Gagosian Gallery’s Madison Avenue location showcased a series of sculptures by Gehry titled Ruminations. At the time, the pieces were said to be in dialogue with the architect’s engagements with fluid aquatic animal forms that date to an inspirational early-80s commission with the Formica Corporation. Notably, the show featured the East Coast debut of Gehry’s “Crocodile Lamp” sculpture, beside selected works on paper and other elaborations on the animal theme.
Read more about the design here.
Crocodile sculptures, Rebecca’s restaurant. Image credit: BonhamsCrocodile sculptures, Rebecca’s restaurant
Gehry designed two sculptural pendant crocodile designs as part of a 1983 commission from restaurateurs Bruce and Rebecca Marder for the design of the interior of their then-new Venice, California restaurant called Rebecca’s. Gehry’s design instantly became the much-discussed backdrop of what, for a while, was the preferred haunt for Brat Packers and other 80s Hollywood celebrities. Comprised of painted metal and glass, they were originally complemented in the restaurant by a crystal octopus and backlit onyx. The pieces were auctioned in 2022 at Bonhams.
Read more about the design here.
Spinning Tales sculptures, Gagosian Gallery. Image credit: Frank Gehry. Photo: Joshua White. Courtesy of GagosianSpinning Tales sculptures, Gagosian Gallery
Held at the Gagosian Gallery in 2021, Spinning Tales showcased a series of pieces from Gehry throughout his career. The exhibition centered on a trio of sculptures that trace their beginnings to a 1980s commission Gehry received from the Formica Corporation. Gehry had at the time been tasked with using a plastic laminate called ColorCore. After shattering a piece of ColorCore in his workshop, an allusion became clear: Gehry eventually glued the scale-like shards together over wire armatures to create a series of what he called Fish Lamps that formed the centrepiece of the exhibition.
Read more about the design here.
Tambour Moon Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Sapphire. Image credit: Louis VuittonTambour Moon Tourbillon Poinçon de Genève Sapphire watch, Louis Vuitton
A collaboration between Frank Gehry and La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, the Tambour Moon collection was inspired by Gehry’s design for the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul. Like their architectural forebearers, the watch is heavily transparent to five uninterrupted views of its inner workings.
Read more about the design here.
Louis Vuitton handbags, Art Basel Miami. Image credit: Louis VuittonLouis Vuitton handbags, Art Basel Miami
At the 21st edition of Art Basel Miami Beach in 2023, a special capsule collection from Frank Gehry for Louis Vuitton was displayed. The handbags collection offered a “reinterpretation” of the brand’s iconic Capucines bag, designed to encapsulate four themes: ‘Architecture and Form,’ ‘Material Exploration,’ ‘Animals,’ and the ‘Twisted Box.’
Read more about the design here.
Louis Vuitton performs bottle, Les Extraits Collection. Image credit: Florian Joye via Louis Vuitton Les Extraits CollectionLouis Vuitton performs bottle, Les Extraits Collection
Taking from the movement and fluidity found in his fish motif, Gehry collaborated with Louis Vuitton in 2021 for the design of a new fragrance bottle. As part of Louis Vuitton’s Les Extraits Collection, the architect transformed the iconic bottle into a sculptural form that embodied the fragrance’s evocation of travel, designed and developed by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud.
Read more about the design here.
Hennessy X.O. decanter. Image credit: HennessyHennessy X.O. decanter
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Hennessy X.O., the French cognac distiller unveiled a sculptural decanter designed by Gehry in 2020. Using his signature style, Gehry reimagined Hennessy X.O.’s classic design. The bottle was wrapped with crinkled 24-carat gold-dipped bronze and encased in a “fractured” glass glorifier to illustrate its inspirations of water and light.
Read more about the design here.
Bentwood wooden chairs. Image credit: Frank GehryBentwood wooden chairs
In 2015, we included Gehry’s bentwood wooden chairs as part of our roundup of chairs designed by architects. “While Frank Gehry’s bentwood wooden chairs do not spin and bend (on purpose, anyway), they do make for excellent places to sit and think, primarily because of their materiality,” we wrote at the time. “These chairs are by far the most voluptuous and earthy: where Eames skews toward an impermeable practicality, the fluidity of Gehry’s chairs requires a softer touch.”
Read more about the design here.