​01.06.2025

Exhibition Tip: Barbara Kruger at the Guggenheim Bilbao

by Eyes & Ears of Europe

Barbara Kruger operates at the intersection of graphic design, advertising, typography, and political discourse—precisely where visual communication has the most impact. Her signature style—short, punchy slogans in Futura Bold over black-and-white imagery—appropriates the aesthetics of mass media to question it from within. She demonstrates how form and content, design and ideology, are deeply interconnected.

For designers, Kruger’s work is a masterclass in visual rhetoric: How much power can be held in a single word? How can design provoke thought instead of encouraging consumption? Kruger doesn’t use design merely as a tool but as a form of critique—reminding us that visual communication is never neutral.

Which brings us to some exciting news: Barbara Kruger is having a major exhibition in Spain, at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. There, she will present a large-scale retrospective spanning over five decades, all united by the central theme of sharp, concise slogans like "Your body is a battleground" and "I shop therefore I am." Not only is she one of the few artists to use the aesthetics of billboard advertising for her art, she is also among the rare cases of an artist whose style has been appropriated by the advertising industry itself.

The show in Bilbao will not only present collages, billboard works, and multimedia installations—Kruger has also created an exclusive work for the Guggenheim Museum itself, incorporating both Basque and Spanish language.

“Language is a powerful force—and it defines us,” the artist once said. Especially in light of current events, we know that images and headlines often speak louder than rational thought.

The exhibition will be open from June 24 to September 11

More Info: https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/exhibitions/barbara-kruger