It is not in San Francisco, and it is not a bridge. Solna’s Golden Gate (Guldporten) is a sculpture which stands atop the hill, at the intersection between the buildings in Västra Skogen (Swedish for Western Forest). Here, there is an opening with a wide-ranging view of Ulvsunda Bay which is well worth the climb!
The sculpture is so gleaming with gold that it dazzles. Just as the title suggests, it is a gate. It is a gate that contains multiple openings. You can pass through it in several different ways, from one side or the other. But the gate also enables multiple ways of seeing. If you look through it and gaze out towards the water, you get one view, but if you stand with your back to the water, you get another. The gate encourages the visitor to discover, to find new openings and possibilities on their own.
In many different cultures, a gate is a symbol of borders - between the new and the old, between life and death. When the artist Björn Erling Evensen created the monumental bronze sculpture in the early 1970s, he was inspired by contemporary boundary-pushing art. He has mentioned that the gate is a motif that has accompanied him throughout his life. Another gate by the artist can be found in the memorial garden at Solna Church.
