Frank Gehry Debuts New Fish Lamps at Gagosian

©Frank Gehry. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Josh White/JWPictures.com

Frank Gehry

’s reconsidered Fish Lamps will be on view concurrently at

Gagosian Gallery

in Los Angeles and in Paris. The works are a new take on a series the iconic architect created between 1984 and 1986 after he shattered a piece of plastic laminate and noticed the shards resembled fish scales.

“Frank [Gehry] has said, ‘the fish is a perfect form’ and of course it has been a powerful influence on his architecture and design,” said Deborah McLeod, director of Gagosian Gallery Beverly Hills. “Larry [Gagosian] had the idea to show Frank’s vintage Fish Lamps, and in my conversations with Frank he suddenly said, ‘maybe I’ll make a new one’. “ Over the course of 2012, this exuberant new body of work emerged.

©Frank Gehry. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Josh White/JWPictures.com.

The new lamps, which are works in progress ranging from life size to overblown, incorporate the same ColorCore plastic laminate as the initial designs but applied in a bolder way using larger, jagged elements. Gehry used wire armatures molded into fish shapes to form the base of the initial forms, then glued the shards to the base one by one to simulate the swirling motion of a living fish.

“Frank Gehry: Fish Lamps” will be on display from January 11 through February 14 in Los Angeles and from January 24 through March 9 in Paris.