CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER PRESENTS FORM: CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTS AT PLAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition and auction collection features extraordinary offering of new artworks, from domestic to sculptural forms, by leading contemporary architects
FORM: CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTS AT PLAY
May 3 - August 31, 2008
Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art
CINCINNATI, March 25, 2008-The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) presents FORM: Contemporary Architects at Play, a collection of remarkable, new artworks from ten world-renowned architects, including Zaha Hadid, Michael Graves and Bernard Tschumi. Together the works, constructed in innovative materials provided by Formica Corporation, explore a range of artistic expression from the most creative designers working in architecture today, with designs ranging in scope from domestic pieces to conceptual sculpture.
The fabricated designs will be offered in live auction May 10, 2008 during CAC's Silk & Spice Gala and in exhibition May 3 through August 31. The exhibition celebrates the CAC's fifth year in the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, Hadid's first completed architectural project in the United States. Auction proceeds benefit CAC exhibitions and educational programming.
"As we celebrate our fifth year in the Rosenthal Center, we want to mark this historical moment with a bit of history-making. Design is essential to our daily lives — it is not confined to buildings and structures, but is part of how we live, work and play. FORM celebrates and advances the centrality of design in our lives," says Raphaela Platow, CAC's Alice & Harris Weston Director and Chief Curator.
Cincinnati-based Formica Corporation, a global leader in surfacing materials, donated fabrication costs and material resources to the project because of a simple, intriguing notion: to pair a design surfacing innovator with the imaginations of some of the world's most influential architects for the benefit of the CAC and Cincinnati community.
"Architects participating in FORM transform Formica® brand laminates and solid surfaces into art, each piece providing a unique perspective from each architect," says Renée Hytry Derrington, Senior Vice President of Global Design, Formica Corporation.
CAC and Formica Corporation presented the architects with an enjoyable challenge: to design an object that people could "sit upon, lie upon, lean upon, play upon." The architects present a broad range of approaches to the challenge. The result is a collection that runs a spectrum of scale, design and intent, but the works all share superior attention to detail, elegant design and luxurious form. Though the designs vary greatly from one another, all include an element of delight, inspiring the title FORM: Contemporary Architects at Play.
Premier New York gallery owner Max Protetch has this to say about the exhibition: "This collection truly offers a broad range in the architectural design spectrum from museum-worthy forms to domestic-scale showpieces. For example, Zaha Hadid's work, as in her architecture, speaks about function through newly invented forms. Other designs give more consideration to ideas such as comfort or composition based on the materials. Even with the diversity of approaches, all engage artistry and architecture, and all present the latest in contemporary ideas." Protetch has shown architectural drawings by contemporary masters, including Hadid, Graves and Peter Eisenman, all of whom contributed designs to FORM.
Christie's is the official auctioneer for the live sale. "There is something for everyone in this collection. These ten architects represent a variety of trends in contemporary art; some experiment with conceptual aesthetics and boundaries, while others address contemporary issues with design solutions," says Erica Barrish, Christie's Assistant Vice President, Associate Specialist Fine Arts.
The architects' final designs will be unveiled for preview in early May.
Inside the Design Studio: Beginning in late March, CAC will present a series of one-on-one interviews and in-depth profiles on the architects involved in FORM. This series offers intimate, surprising and enlightening views into the artists' studios, leading up to the design unveiling and the presentation of the e-catalog in early May.
Call Stacey Czar at 513 345 8415 or e-mail pr@cacmail.org to receive information, updates and previews of the designs.
The CAC is offering information to the public at www.contemporaryartscenter.org/FORM. On this page, visitors can sign up to receive information and view Inside the Design Studio series.
Participating Architects
Peter Eisenman, Eisenman Architects
Michael Graves, Michael Graves Design Group
Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects
Thom Mayne, Morphosis
William Pedersen FAIA FAAR, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC
Laurinda Spear, Arquitectonica
Bernard Tschumi, Bernard Tschumi Architects
Jaime Velez, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP
Massimo Vignelli, Vignelli Designs, Inc.
Buzz Yudell, MooreRuble Yudell Architects and Planners
Event Details: Silk & Spice Annual Gala, Live Auction and Exhibition
Gala: Silk & Spice
May 10, 2008, 6-10 pm, Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art
Visionary Honoree: Dr. Jay Chatterjee
Tickets go on sale March 15, 2008.
Live Auction and Exhibition
FORM: Contemporary Architects at Play
Saturday, May 3 through Sunday, August 31, 2008
Live Auction Date: Saturday, May 10, 2008, 7 pm. Pre-registration is required.
About the Contemporary Arts Center
Founded in November 1939 as the Modern Art Society by three visionary women in Cincinnati, Contemporary Arts Center was one of the first institutions in the U.S. dedicated to exhibiting the art of our time. In May 2003, the Center relocated to its first free-standing home, the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, designed by Zaha Hadid. Throughout its distinguished history, the Center has earned a reputation for stimulating thought and introducing new ideas by presenting the work of diverse artists from around the world, including hundreds of now-famous artists such as Laurie Anderson, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Nam June Paik, I.M. Pei, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. CAC focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media, presenting eight to 12 exhibitions and 20 to 40 performances annually.
The CAC is supported by the individuals and business that give annually to the Fine Arts Fund; Ohio Arts Council; City of Cincinnati; All Over Media; and the generous contributions and grants of individuals and corporations and foundations, CAC memberships, facility rentals, special events and sales from the CAC Store.
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