Aerial view of Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington. Image © Iwan Baan

The exhibition White Cube, Green Maze opens tonight at The Heinz Architectural Center of Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Curated by Raymund Ryan, the show examines emerging trends in museum design through six unconventional sites and features newly commissioned photographs by Iwan Baan. The beautifully portrayed case studies share the common thread of moving beyond the traditional “white cube” gallery space, and away from expectations of how a gallery should be experienced. Read more.

Instituto Inhotim. Image © Iwan Baan

Rather than displaying art in minimalist, enclosed spaces, the sites in the exhibition break apart the experience into multiple pavilions, using the landscape as a backdrop. Visitors are free to roam and discover, presenting artists and curators with far more options than those offered by more traditional institutions.

Each of these case studies represents a unique expression of the ambitions and collaborations of patrons, architects, landscape architects, artists, and curators. Several of them have already achieved recognition, while others are only emerging as important models; all demonstrate a close intertwining of art, design, curatorial vision, and the environment. According to curator Raymund Ryan, “These evolving institutions, appearing almost simultaneously at radically different sites around the world, are forming a new typology that mixes professional disciplines and offers the visitors choice and surprise.”

Exterior of PACCAR Pavilion at the Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism. Image © Iwan Baan

Still from Beam Drop Inhotim, a short film directed by Pablo Lobato documenting the installation of the piece by Chris Burden. Courtesy of Pablo Lobato.

Exterior of F-Art House by Kazuyo Sejima, part of Art House Project Inujima. Image © Iwan Baan

The exhibition space engages visitors with a “green maze” of its own, encouraging them to roam among plans of each site, presentation models, and maquettes by emerging and leading architects, original sketches by artists participating at the sites around the world, and historical documentation of sites prior to re-design. These installations, designed by MGMT, emphasize the many voices contributing to each institution or site.

The exhibition will kick off tonight with Baan discussing his work in a conversation with Raymund Ryan. The talk will start at 6.30 p.m. and will be followed by a reception on the Hall of Sculpture balcony. Learn more here.

Conceptual model of Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss/Manfredi. Courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi.

An accompanying book includes an introductory essay by Ryan and additional photography by Baan.

The six sites or institutions presented in White Cube, Green Maze: New Art Landscapes are:

• Raketenstation Insel Hombroich, near Neuss, Germany, including built projects by Erwin Heerich, Tadao Ando, Álvaro Siza Vieira, and Raimund Abraham
• Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Japan, including built projects by Tadao Ando, Hiroshi Sambuichi, Kazuyo Sejima, and Ryue Nishizawa
• Inhotim, near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, inspired by the landscapes of Roberto Burle Marx and including built projects by Arquitetos Associados, Rodrigo Cerviño Lopez, and Rizoma Arquitetura
• Jardín Botánico, Culiacán, Mexico, with architectural interventions by Tatiana Bilbao and landscape design by TOA–Taller de Operaciones Ambientales
• Grand Traiano Art Complex, Grottaferrata, Italy, with projects in design development by Johnston Marklee and by HHF architects and with landscape design by Topotek1
• Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, USA, designed by Weiss/Manfredi

by Silvia Gugu

posted in Events

tagged Carnegie Museum of Art, iwan baan, Raymund Ryan

more articles by Silvia Gugu