Architect Frank Gehry’s thinking and work are closely linked to the influence of Los Angeles and its art scene. This comprehensive exhibition explores Gehry’s early artistic influences, which led to his revolutionary approach to rethinking architecture.

The free-spirited environment surrounding the “Cool School” group, which established itself in Los Angeles from the late 1950s onward, was a melting pot of artistic (material) experiments, shaped by Beat literature. In this vibrant network on the California coast, an inspiring cross-disciplinary dialogue between art and architecture developed.

The exhibition at Marta Herford, a unique architectural sculpture by Frank Gehry, brings together these impulses and opens up connections to iconic works of American postwar art as well as subsequent generations from this context.