On Thursday, March 24, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art will present
The House That Modernism Built, a major exhibition that will present the Bechtler Museum of Modern Arts' rich mid-20th-century art collection alongside furniture, textile, and ceramic holdings on loan from various institutions including Eames Office, Herman Miller Archives, Alexander Girard Studios, The Henry Ford, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, Voya Financial and private lenders around the country. Over 200 works will be on view, including more than 20 from the Bechtler collection that have never been seen by the public.
Organized thematically, the exhibition will illustrate how the modern aesthetic shaped people's lives during the 20th century throughout the United States and the affinity of aesthetic and philosophical principles that influenced art and design during this period. In particular, the show will emphasize process, examining how designers and artists considered and tackled projects and problems, and how the innovations in other disciplines from the sciences to the humanities influenced their direction and thinking. To trace the creative process and critical approach to problem solving, the exhibition will include prototypes, design plans with manufactured pieces alongside studies and final works.
While the scope of the show will be international, it will draw attention to design innovations particularly embraced in the United States with a regional focus on production in North Carolina. Ceramics on view that have been designed in North Carolina include Jug Town Pottery, North State Pottery Company, Hyalyn Porcelain Company, Pisgah Forest Pottery, and art objects from A.R. Cole and J.B. Cole.
"The Bechtler is exceptionally proud to present this visually rich and intellectually stimulating exhibition whose great strength-the remarkable variety and rarity of the works included-could only have been possible because of the inspiring generosity of our many lenders and the vision of our curator, Jennifer Sudul Edwards Ph.D.," said John Boyer, President and CEO of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
The exhibition explores several themes, principally among them are the creative process and the utopian ideal that thoughtful design would improve the human condition.
Artists and designers featured in
The House That Modernism Built include Victor Vasarely, Zoltan Kemeny, Kenneth Noland, Roy Lichtenstein, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Charlotte Perriand, George Nakashima, Harry Bertoia, Mies van de Rohe, Gilbert Rohde, Robert Propst, Marcel Breuer, Jack Larsen, and Maija Isola. Designs included in the exhibition range from the ideal - Action Office II designed by Robert Propst to demonstrate how a modular-panel system, incorporating work surfaces and storage units, could shape a seemingly organic workplace - to the grand - a geodesic dome created as an economical, efficient way to address the post-World War II housing shortage and celebrates Buckminister Fuller's design innovations during his tenure at Black Mountain College. There are extensive displays dedicated to the work of Charles and Ray Eames including the evolution of their LCW chair, prototypes leading to the final version of the Aluminum Group chair, and an installation of their Eames Contract Storage. Herman Miller marketed this modular bedroom set which included a murphy bed,
a desk and shelving unit, and a closet (additional units could be added as needed) beginning in 1961 and one of the first major clients included the Charlotte YMCA (what is now the Dowd location).
The works date from 1920 through 1980, but the groundbreaking choices of material and manufacturing processes by these makers remain vital, revealing how these larger principles of modernism continue to resonate in our lives today.
The House That Modernism Built is curated by Jennifer Sudul Edwards, Ph.D.
For the general public, tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, students, and educators, $4 for youth ages 11 to 18, and free for children age 10 and under. For more information visit
www.bechtler.org or call 704.353.9200.
The Museum will offer an array of exhibition-related programming, including lectures, films, and evening and family activities.
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