Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis, Missouri Building Images Architect, America Exhibitions, MO Design News

Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Missouri Architectural Development, USA design by Tadao Ando

Jan 6, 2015

Location: St Louis, Missouri, USA

Design: Tadao Ando

Pulitzer Arts Foundation to Open New Galleries With Solo Exhibitions of Work by Alexander Calder, Fred Sandback, and Richard Tuttle

Inaugural Exhibitions, Programming, and Publication Represent New Institutional Approach to Extend Audience Engagement And Experience of Tadao Ando-Designed Building

Photos by Robert Pettus

Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St Louis

In May 2015, Pulitzer Arts Foundation will celebrate the opening of its newly constructed galleries with three concurrent exhibitions of important American artists Alexander Calder, Fred Sandback, and Richard Tuttle. Each of these focused, solo exhibitions will heighten the experience of the Pulitzer’s Tadao Andodesigned building through an exploration of the artists’ investigations into line, material, and space. From Calder’s hanging mobiles to Sandback’s yarn sculptures to Tuttle’s wire pieces extending from the wall, the exhibitions will prompt active consideration of the relationship between artwork, its surroundings, and visitors. These three distinct examinations of space—which draw the visitor’s gaze upward, downward, and across the galleries—will enliven the first experience of the Pulitzer’s transformed lower level and its connection to existing galleries.

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Begun in August 2014, the Pulitzer’s expansion will repurpose office and storage spaces on the lower level to add 3,600 square feet of public space to 6,800 square feet of existing galleries. This renovation will greatly increase the institution’s capacity to deliver a range of innovative exhibitions and programs. The expansion will also improve visitor navigation throughout the building by opening up an additional staircase to connect the upper and lower levels.

“Our expanded capacity has inspired us to rethink how our exhibitions, programs, and publications operate in tandem with one another. When we reopen, our inaugural programs and publication will serve as part of a coordinated effort to explore broader themes at work in the Calder, Sandback, and Tuttle exhibitions—creating distinct experiences while providing a platform for diving deep into larger ideas,” said Kristina Van Dyke, Director of Pulitzer Arts Foundation. “As we discover our new spaces and the opportunities afforded by them, we invite our visitors to partner with us in this endeavor.”

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To complement the visual experiences offered by the exhibitions, the Pulitzer’s inaugural program series, Press Play, will engage audiences through sound. The five-month-long series will invite both active listening and participation through a range of performances and interactive events, developed in collaboration with partners from St. Louis and across the U.S. Press Play will invigorate the experience of the building and the works on view with sound, activating every nook, corner, and expanse of the space.

As part of the publication for the inaugural exhibitions, poet Cole Swensen will create an original erasure poem. Taking an existing text about the building from the Pulitzer’s first public program, Swensen will erase certain phrases to reveal ideas, themes, and images as a new work. Using the page as a space and the words as objects, the poem functions much like the gallery installations, heightening the sense of what exists and what is absent. This publication is the first of its kind at the Pulitzer and represents a new direction for the institution’s publications, in which the book is treated as an object in its own right and extends the experience of the exhibitions.

Additional information regarding the exhibitions follows below, and details regarding programming and the publication will become available in late 2014 and early 2015.

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Calder Lightness
The Pulitzer’s spacious, light-filled upper level galleries will feature the exhibition of sculptures by Alexander Calder. Ranging from large-scale hanging mobiles to a selection of wire sculptures to his less familiar constellations, the exhibition will convey the notion of weightlessness through approximately 16 iconic works. Installed at various vantage points and engaging the viewer on different planes, the experience of the featured works will engender active participation from viewers. Guest curated by Carmen Giménez, Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, the exhibition will showcase Calder’s ability to convey a distinct impression of buoyancy through sculptural form, highlighting his revolutionary impact.

Fred Sandback
Presented in one of the new galleries on the lower level, the Fred Sandback exhibition will provide audiences with a focused presentation of the artist’s work. Curated by Tamara H. Schenkenberg, Associate Curator at Pulitzer Arts Foundation, it will feature a selection of approximately six important sculptures that delineate space, including early works made from metal rods and elastic cord along with those created with acrylic yarn—the artist’s signature medium. The exhibition will demonstrate Sandback’s radical approach to sculpture, which pushes the dematerialization of mass and volume to its extreme through a reduction of material means, while simultaneously creating an impactful spatial presence.

Richard Tuttle Wire Pieces, 1972
The presentation of this unique body of work by Richard Tuttle will be housed in the second gallery on the new lower level. The exhibition is curated by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Chair of Pulitzer Arts Foundation, in close association with the artist. It will feature approximately 10 wire pieces from 1972, which use line, plane, and volume to form a multi-layered sculptural experience that reflects Tuttle’s career-long exploration of spatial relationships, often with minimal materials.

About Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Pulitzer Arts Foundation provides an intimate space for interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement that focuses on the intersection of visual and other arts, as well as design. A non-collecting institution, the Pulitzer is committed to pushing the boundaries of the traditional arts encounter and providing its audiences with new and unexpected arts experiences. Founded by curator, philanthropist, and arts patron Emily Rauh Pulitzer in 2001, the Pulitzer presents a highly

varied program that invites visitors to think differently about art and its relationship to other disciplines and daily life. As part of its continued support of Grand Center’s revitalization and its vision to serve as a cultural destination for the St. Louis community, the Pulitzer brings together a diverse range of innovators, including artists, curators, and community partners, as its collaborators. Housed in a Tadao Andodesigned building, the Pulitzer offers visitors an evolving viewing experience, as it blends indoor and outdoor spaces enlivened by natural light.

In August 2014, the Pulitzer launched the first major alteration to the building since its opening. The Pulitzer is repurposing office and storage spaces in its lower level to add 3,600 square feet of public space to the current 6,800 square feet of existing galleries. This expansion will enable the Pulitzer to present concurrent exhibitions for the first time in its history, extend its curatorial and public programs, and explore a broader range of collaborations.