Top Spanish art prize goes to US architect Frank Gehry

SPAIN’S top annual arts award will be presented to US architect Frank Gehry, it has been announced.

The Prince of Asturias Award honours Gehry’s 50 year career, during which he has created some of the world’s most eye-catching buildings.

The 85-year-old’s work has ‘defined and driven architecture in the past half-century’, according to the judges for the €50,000 prize.

One of his most admired buildings is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, a silver mass of curved titanium that dominates the city centre.

The jury hailed not only ‘the relevance and impact of his creations in numerous countries’, but also the ‘virtuous play of complex forms’ and his ‘technological innovation’.

The prize – which will be presented in a TV ceremony in October – recognises ‘a significant contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind’.

Previous winners include Spanish film director Pedro Almodover, US singer Bob Dylan and British architect Norman Foster.