The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is going to host in situ: Refik Anadol (03.07.2025 - 10.19.2025), an innovative exhibition powered by Artificial Intelligence and inspired by the Museums iconic architecture.
This exhibition marks the debut of a new series titled in situ, which features ambitious projects by contemporary artists working primarily in sculpture, site-specific installation, and multimedia. As the series title suggests, in situ highlights artworks created specifically for the spaces where they are presented—engaging with and complementing the Museum's architectural features.
By focusing on experiential, atmospheric, and thought-provoking art, the series seeks to broaden the understanding of contemporary practice, embracing the intersection of technology, science, music, performance, and the visual arts.Refik Anadol Studio, Render for exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 2024 ©Refik Anadol, Bilbao 2025
The inaugural in situ exhibition will showcase an immersive, architectural, and multisensory work by Refik Anadol (b. 1985, Istanbul, Turkey), an internationally acclaimed media artist and pioneer in the aesthetics of machine intelligence. Based in Los Angeles, Anadol leads Refik Anadol Studio (RAS), a practice at the forefront of algorithmic art and data-driven narratives. His work examines the challenges and possibilities of ubiquitous computing, exploring what it means to be human in an era of machine intelligence. Anadol's practice uses data as a primary material, employing neural networks to generate striking visualizations of digitized memories. By uniting architecture, Al, and art, he pushes the boundaries of interdisciplinary creativity, inviting audiences to rethink their relationships with the physical world, public environments, and the evolving possibilities of decentralized technologies. His Al-generated sculptures, live performances, and installations redefine the role of machine intelligence in contemporary art, sparking both contemplation and wonder.Refik Anadol Studio, Render for exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 2024 ©Refik Anadol, Bilbao 2025
Titled Living Architecture, Anadol's installation reimagines open-access imagery and archival material of Frank Gehry's architectural projects into dynamic visual narratives, reinterpreting Gehry's designs through Al-generated forms. This installation debuts the Large Architecture Model (LAM), an innovative AI model developed by Refik Anadol Studio. As a milestone in RAS's longer research project, Living Architecture uses Gehry's archive as the first dataset to explore how architectural spaces, materials, and data can merge into transformative new art forms. This project builds on Anadol's earlier work, WDCH Dreams, which asked of another Gehry-designed building: Can buildings learn and dream?
The installation will be accompanied by a custom soundscape composed by Anadol's longtime collaborator, Kerim Karaoglu. The audio integrates recordings of materials sourced from within the Guggenheim Bilbao, further enhancing the sensory immersion of the experience.Refik Anadol, ©Efsun Erkilic
Living Architecture is a testament to the ethical and creative use of machine intelligence in contemporary art, highlighting Anadol's dedication to balancing technological innovation with artistic integrity. His work invites visitors to reflect on the interplay of memory, creativity, and architecture, presenting Al not as a tool of replication but as a medium of imagination.
Through in situ: Refik Anadol, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao invites visitors to immerse themselves in the dynamic intersection of art, architecture, and Al, redefining the boundaries of contemporary creativity and celebrating the possibilities of a world where machine intelligence amplifies human expression.
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Press release and images courtesy of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Cover: Refik Anadol Studio, Render for exhibition at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, 2024 ©Refik Anadol, Bilbao 2025
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