Exhibition dates: October 18, 2005 – March 5, 2006
Exhibition location: The Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Gallery,
Santiago Calatrava, the world-renowned architect who has designed some of the most beautiful structures of our epoch, is the subject of a new exhibition, Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture, opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 18, 2005. This exhibition, on view through March 5, 2006, will demonstrate that many of the forms of his celebrated buildings originated in his independent works of art.
Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture will showcase sculptures in marble and bronze, drawings, and architectural models, including work related to the new transportation hub he has designed for the World Trade Center site. The exhibition is organized by themes found in both his art and architecture – stacked cubes, wings and bird images, waves, and Cycladic forms.
In addition to his architectural work, Calatrava spends much of his time drawing and conceiving sculptures. This will be the first major exhibition in the United States to feature such a large selection of Calatrava's independent work and to examine it in conjunction with his architecture.
The exhibition is made possible by UBS, the global financial services firm.
Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum, stated: "It is a rare delight to present the work of such an accomplished architect and artist. This exhibition takes an intimate look at Santiago Calatrava's inventive practices, and uncovers the connections between the private artist and the public architect as he meditates over forms, themes, and construction."
Calatrava was born in 1951 in Benimamet, near Valencia, Spain, and began his formal instruction in drawing and painting at the age of eight at the Arts and Crafts School. In 1968, he enrolled in the Superior Technical School of Architecture in Valencia, where he earned a degree in architecture and took a post-graduate course in urbanism. In 1979, he earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where he also met his wife Robertina, with whom he has four children.
In 1983, he won his first design competition, for the Stadelhofen Railway Station in Zurich, where he established an office. His international reputation for bridge building was set in 1984 when he won the competition to design and build the Bach de Roda Bridge, commissioned for the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In 1991, Calatrava won the design competition to complete the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, a project that has not yet been realized.
Other major projects include the Lyon Airport Station in France (1989-94); City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain (ongoing); the acclaimed expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin (2001); the Tenerife Auditorium in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands (2003); the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Greece (2004); and the "HSB Turning Torso" residential tower in Malmö, Sweden (opened August 2005). In September 2005, construction began in New York City for Calatrava's World Trade Center Transportation Hub, at the Ground Zero site.
Other recent projects that have put Calatrava in the headlines have been the 2004 unveiling of the innovative design for an 835-foot-tall residential tower, "Townhouses in the Sky," now being developed on New York City's East River waterfront; and this summer's unveiling of the design for the tallest building in the United States, a 2,000-foot-tall condominium tower called Fordham Spire that is proposed for the heart of the Chicago skyline.
In February 2005, Santiago Calatrava was awarded the American Institute of Architects' 2005 gold medal, the highest honor conferred by the AIA. Current commissions include the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy; the Fourth Bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy; and Symphony Center for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
The Metropolitan Museum's collection of modern architectural drawings, design drawings, and models includes important work from the early 20th century by leading architects such as Hector Guimard, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh; the mid-century architect Frederick Kiesler; and recent acquisitions, including Aldo Rossi's drawing for the Palazzo Congressi, Milan, and Ettore Sottsass's studies for a house in Colorado.
Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture is organized by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Curator in Charge, and Jane Adlin, Assistant Curator, both of the Metropolitan's Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. Exhibition design is by Daniel Kershaw, Exhibition Designer; graphics are by Barbara Weiss, Graphic Designer; and lighting is by Clint Ross Coller and Rich Lichte, Lighting Designers, all of the Metropolitan Museum's Design Department.
A variety of education programs will be presented in conjunction with the exhibition, including a screening of the film Santiago Calatrava's Travels (1999), gallery talks, family programs, programs for college students, and public lectures. On Sunday, October 30, 2005, Sunday at the Met will feature a lecture given by Santiago Calatrava. Information regarding these related programs as well as the exhibition itself will be featured on the Museum's website (www.metmuseum.org).
Concurrent withSantiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture, the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in New York will present the exhibition Clay and Paint: Ceramics and Watercolors by Santiago Calatrava, October 19 – November 26.
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