Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN — Photographed 2017
As a fan of Frank Gehry, I personally documented the Weisman Art Museum in 2017 - capturing its shimmering presence along the Mississippi River at the University of Minnesota.
Architectural Overview
Architect: Frank Gehry (with MSR Design as architect‑of‑record)
Construction Period: 1990–1993; officially opened November 21, 1993
Design Inspiration:
A dual facade: brick-faced side blends with campus context, while stainless-steel “mask” face, angular, Cubist-like — references the underlying rock bluff and brings sculptural movement to the riverfront.
Gehry’s early experimentation with bent-metal forms and hand-crafted detailing, completed before CAD tools became widespread.
Expansion & Evolution
A Gehry-designed expansion (~8,100 ft²) completed in 2011, extending the original galleries and adding new studio, gallery, and canopy features.
Awards & Recognition:
Progressive Architecture Citation Award, 1992
Continues to be celebrated as an early example of Gehry’s expressive metal‑skinned architecture
I photographed the Weisman on an overcast day, the kind of diffused light that often flattens surfaces. But even without direct sun, the building’s stainless steel facade came alive, its twisting forms and folded planes still caught and reflected light in subtle, shifting ways. The play of shadow and tone across the metal skin revealed just how dynamic Gehry’s design truly is, even under quiet skies.
© 2017 JC buck
