The Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts will reopen its 1970 building on October 8 with a special program

The Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts will reopen the 1970 building on October 8with a special program of exhibitions and activities following the completion of the reform. With theexpansion project of Norman Foster and Luis Maria Uriarte the works have been completed.

With this opening, the museum "marks an important milestone" in its transformation andwill culminate in the opening of the 'Agravitas' space in June 2026.

To begin the special program, with the sponsorship of the BBVA, the sculpture 'Praise of the Horizon III ' will be installed in Chillida Square, thus returning the work of the Donostiarra artist to Bilbao, which had to be transferred to the Chillida Place as a result of the reform works.

The emblematic building designed between 1963 and 1970 by the architects Alvaro Libano and Ricardo Beascoa was the first expansion of the museum in Bilbao and was designed to provide a new cultural infrastructure for art.

The press conference was attended by representatives of the Basque Government, the City Council and the Provincial Council, as well as the main members of the board, such as the BBK Foundation, Petronor, Iberdrola and BBVA.

Built in conjunction with the construction of the new 'Agravitas' architecture - the two buildings will share access and vertical communication area from Chillida Square - the rehabilitation will allow, from October onwards, to carry out exhibition and educational activities in the final phase of the work.

The comprehensive rehabilitation, which has covered almost 6,000 square metres , has responded to the need to adapt the structures and facilities to the current safety and fire standards required by the institutions, requiring a technical process of "high demand and complexity" as it is a building of high architectural value.

With the opening of the Chillida Square and the transfer of public activity to the building in 1970, in October the final phase of the works of the new architecture 'Agravitas' will begin, while under the monumental staircase of the hall of Pedro de Icaza and Aguirre a walkway will be built that will link the original building of 1945 with the new Arriaga portal.

Within the special program, from October 8, the museum will install 30 bat worksof art in the space occupied by the old porch or porch, located on the ground floor of the building of Lebanon and Beasain, which regains the character of a covered square.

The exhibition includes worksbyBasque artists such as Agustin Ibarrola, Richard Serra, Itziar Okariz, Juana Cima Sugoi and Gema Intxausti , among others.

A painting exhibition by German artist Georg Baselitz will open on October 8. Baselitz is one of the most famous artists in the second half of the 20th century.

Located in the main gallery of the 1970s building, the exhibition will present about 50 paintings created over the past decade, selected by historian Norman Rosenthal.