Painting the Glass House

The exhibition brings together two-dimensional works (including video) in various media by Alexander Apóstol, Daniel Arsham, Gordon Cheung, David Claerbout, Angela Dufresne, Mark Dziewulski, Christine Erhard, Cyprien Gaillard, Terence Gower, Angelina Gualdoni, Natasha Kissell, Luisa Lambri, Dorit Margreiter, Russell Nachman, Enoc Perez, and Lucy Williams—a collection that explores an interest among emerging artists in architecture of the modern period.

Modern architecture is generally identified with buildings by Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright, which represent a period driven by developments in technology, engineering, and the introduction of industrial materials such as iron, steel, concrete, and glass. Architects at this time engaged in a practice that not only incorporated structural innovations, but also encouraged social change.

The artists featured in the exhibition are interested not only in the potential of utopian ideas, but also the sense of a passing idealism that modern architecture now embodies. Hough comments, “The artists are less interested in the built structures themselves and what it might feel like to be inside one, and more interested in the philosophy and idealism they represent. The way in which the buildings signal a possibility of utopia is essential—a future that could have been. Sentimentality runs through much of the work.”

Ramírez-Montagut adds, “This melancholic remembrance comes at a time when great works of modern architecture are at risk due to neglect, deterioration, and demolition. Underlying all the artworks is a feeling of deep admiration for the architects who sought to elevate culture and bring it to the broad masses, yet their sense of failure is also prevalent; the artists’ knowledge of modern architecture’s crisis and demise tints their works with some kind of nostalgia.”

The Aldrich will host an Exhibition Reception on Sunday, March 9, 2008, from 3 to 5 pm. Prior to the opening there will be a 2 pm Panel Discussion: Painting the Glass House: Artists Revisit Modern Architecture, with curators Jessica Hough and Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, along with artists Daniel Arsham, Angela Dufresne, and Terence Gower. The reception is FREE for members. Refreshments will be served. Round-trip transportation from New York City is available; please call the Museum at 203.438.4519 for reservations. Please note that the bus will not arrive in time for the panel discussion. The reception and panel will take place at the Museum located at 258 Main Street, Ridgefield.

A book related to the exhibition is being co-published by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Mills College Art Museum, and Yale University Press, and is scheduled for a fall 2008 release.

Painting the Glass House: Artists Revisit Modern Architecture has been organized by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum with the Yale School of Architecture Gallery. Both The Aldrich and Yale will present a portion of the exhibition in their galleries. The exhibition will travel to Mills College Art Museum in California following its Connecticut debut. Exhibition dates: Yale School of Architecture Gallery (New Haven, CT): February 11 to May 9, 2008; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, CT): March 9 to July 27, 2008; Mills College Art Museum (Oakland, CA): January 14 to March 22, 2009.

Painting the Glass House: Artists Revisit Modern Architecture
Kuratoren: Jessica Hough, Monica Ramirez-Montagut

mit Alexander Apostol, Daniel Arsham, Gordon Cheung, David Claerbout, Angela Dufresne, Mark Dziewulski, Christine Erhard, Cyprien Gaillard, Terence Gower, Angelina Gualdoni, Natasha Kissell, Luisa Lambri, Dorit Margreiter, Russell Nachman, Enoc Perez, Lucy Williams

Stationen:
11.02.08 - 09.05.08 Yale School of Architecture, New Haven
09.03.08 - 27.07.08 Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield
14.01.09 - 22.03.09 Mills College Art Museum, Oakland