Spain's Guggenheim Museum to branch out

A general view of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain, October 17, 2007.

BILBAO (Reuters) - Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum will open a new 100-million-euro ($155.6 million) branch in the countryside outside the northern Spanish city, the local government said on Tuesday.

Jose Luis Bilbao, head of the Vizcaya provincial government, said local authorities would provide the cash for the project, to be built in the Urdabai nature reserve.

Juan Ignacio Vidarte, curator of the Bilbao Guggenheim known for its twisting titanium architecture designed by Frank Gehry, said the new branch would link "art, sustainability, the natural setting and economic activity in the area."

He did not say who would design the building or when it would open.

The Guggenheim Bilbao hosts modern art by artists from Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons. It is part of the Guggenheim network comprising museums in New York, Venice, Berlin and Las Vegas.

(Reporting by Arantza Goyoaga; writing by Martin Roberts; editing by Andrew Dobbie))