November 1 – December 7, 2025
The exhibition is inspired by the intersection of art and architecture, a result of the Modernism art movements emerging from World War 1 and World War II.
Titled ‘Art and Architecture: the Elemental,’ this exhibition represents my exploration of this theme through the lens of the artistic movements that comprise the Modernism art movement. Of specific focus is Brutalist Architecture which emerged at a time of urgent need for large-scale, affordable residential architecture. Post World War II, Europe’s major cities were heavily bomb-damaged. The need to clear urban slums and a desire to improve the lot of the common citizen, inspired large-scale rehousing projects across much of the continent.
With the scale of its designs and emphasis on cheap building materials, Brutalism became the style of choice for many of these projects and public buildings. Brutalism’s most famous stylistic motif was the use of raw concrete (French “béton brut”) for exterior surfaces, leaving evidence of the construction process, such as the holes and seam lines left by the setting of liquid concrete, visible on the outside of buildings.
For Brutalist architects this approach rejected ornamentation, with an emphasis on structural honesty, a truth to the textural qualities of materials, and to the labor of construction that epitomized their socially engaged, ethics-driven approach to their work. Brutalism emphasized the physical properties and brash abundance of its building materials, drawing attention to the weight, density, and mass of concrete, steel, and stone.