Santiago Calatrava: Sculpture into Architecture

Monday, 24 October 2005 11:37

NEW YORK.-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 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This exhibition 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. 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.” 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. Among his recent commissions, Calatrava has been selected to design the Museum dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy; Symphony Center for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City, now under construction. 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.

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