: On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its landmark building
designed by Richard Meier, the High Museum of Art is presenting
"The undiscovered Richard Meier: The Architect as Designer and
Artist," an exhibition of more than 300 works revealing Meier's
range as an artist and designer. Renowned for his modernist
designs, Meier has made significant contributions to architecture
around the world. His best known works include The Getty Center
in Los Angeles, the Museum for Applied Art in Frankfurt, the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona and the High Museum of
Art in Atlanta. This exhibition highlights a lesser-known side of
Meier's design talents, encompassing functional pieces of his
modern design, including furniture, lamps, tableware and jewelry,
as well as fine art objects of collage and sculpture.
"The Undiscovered Richard Meier: The Architect as Designer and
Artist" is on view at the High Museum of Art through April 4. The
High will also present a lecture by Meier, titled "The High and
After the High" on Tuesday, November 18, at 7 pm, in Symphony
Hall in the Memorial Arts Building adjacent to the museum.
This exhibition includes more than 100 collages and more than two
dozen sculptures created by Meier from the late 1980s to 2002.
The exhibition also highlights some of the architect's notable
product design work, including elegant furniture, vases, frames,
flatware, silver, ceramic and crystal for companies including
Alessi, Knoll, Swid Powell and Steuben.
Coinciding with "The Undiscovered Richard Meier," this October
marks the 20th anniversary of the public opening of the High's
celebrated Richard Meier-designed building. The High is
renovating and upgrading the building as part of an overall
expansion and facilities upgrade, which when completed in the
fall of 2005, will include three new buildings designed by
architect Renzo Piano. The expansion and renovation will create
an enlivened, state-of-the-art campus that will meet the demands
of the museum's expanding audiences.
The High's second, third and fourth floor galleries were recently
reconfigured to more closely reflect Meier's design, with three
large galleries in the northeast, northwest and southwest
corners, transition spaces between corner galleries and two
atrium galleries oriented north-south and east-west. The museum
will also uncover brilliant skylights on the fourth floor that
were concealed shortly after the building opened in 1983.
American architect and designer Meier has been the recipient of
numerous awards, including the Pritzker Prize, the AIA Medal from
the American Institute of Architects and the Praemium Imperiale
from the Japanese Government, in recognition of a lifetime
achievement in the arts. As principal of New York-based Richard
Meier & Partners, Meier's notable projects have included the
High, The Getty Center, the Museum for Applied Art in Frankfurt,
the Canal Plus Television Headquarters in Paris, the Barcelona
Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hartford Seminary in Connecticut
and the Atheneum in New Harmony, Ind.
The High Museum of Art is at 1280 Peachtree Street, NE. For
information, 404-733-4437 or www.high.org.
