Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller (1895-1983) achieved superstar status in his lifetime, and the cultlike legend of his career in architecture, philosophy and sustainable design has only grown in the decades following his death.

September 22, 2018 - January 20, 2019

This exhibition takes as it inspiration British architectural historian Reyner Banham’s treatise Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, a tribute to LA as a “mobile city." San Diego: The Architecture of Four Ecologies similarly pays homage to San Diego as a city of change and possibility, with a focus on the car as the current and predominant means to access and experience four of its own ecologies: Beaches, Freeways, Sub/urban and Border.  Four Ecologies is organized around these terrains, providing a gateway to engender dialogue about how we navigate and engage each environment. Works in various media—including drawing, painting, photography, installation, and video—will illuminate San Diego’s evolving narrative about the relationship between the automobile, architecture, and the environment.  Participating artists include: Doug Aitken, Abe King, Cy Kukenbacker, Robert Minervini, Margaret Noble, Jens Ochlich, Rene Peralta, Hector Perez, Iana Quesnell, Philipp Scholz Rittermann, Dustin Shuler, Paul Turounet, UCSD Design Lab/Colleen Emmenegger, Gareth Walsh, and Michael Webb.  Essay contributors include: Jennifer Luce FAIA, Kent Yoshimura, Bruce Appleyard, Lawrence Herzog, and Bruni Mori.

Curated by Rebecca Webb

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp talks about the visionary’s relevance in the 21st Century.

If the name R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) brings up any associations in the 21st century, it is for his creation of the geodesic dome. This structure looks complex because it is made of interconnected geometric forms that result in a slightly spherical shape. It has been used for decades as inexpensive and pragmatic shelter, an alternative to more traditional but also more costly methods of construction that involve foundations and load- bearing walls.

One of the greatest design scientists and thinkers of the 20th century, Buckminster Fuller is often referred to as the da Vinci of the modern era. From his prefabricated housing designs to his now-ubiquitous geodesic domes and Dymaxion maps, Fuller’s work was prodigiously ahead of its time.

But perhaps more than the outcome of his inventions, it was his cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to problem-solving that remains revolutionary. Tackling everything from transportation, ecological destruction, and affordable housing, Fuller wasn’t afraid to confront complex problems. And he certainly wasn’t afraid to fail.

Here, Edward Cella, curator of Richard Buckminster Fuller, Inventions and Models in Los Angeles, discusses the self-taught prodigy.

October 20, 2018 – October 28, 2018

Anna Halprin’s career has been exceptionally long and varied—even for an artist who turned 98 this year—and her pieces have inspired generations of other artists around the world, across many disciplines, artistic and social movements, and communities. This October we celebrate Halprin and her multidisciplinary practice by presenting a selection of performances, film screenings, workshops, and participatory events, including Planetary Dance(which has been staged in forty-six countries on six continents to date).

Halprin has consistently defied the boundaries of dance, using experiments with everyday movement and contextual shifts away from the stage to reinvent its forms, subjects, and intentions. She has pushed the medium even further as a tool to address social justice issues, connect people with one another and the environment, foster community across racial and social divides, and facilitate both physical and psychological healing. Long renowned in the dance world, Halprin is increasingly recognized as a contemporary artist who brings a pioneering approach to social and collective artistic practices. Richard Schechner, editor of TDR: The Drama Review, calls her “one of the most important and original thinkers in performance.”

This presentation’s multiple performances, workshops, and screenings together offer a glimpse into Halprin’s work, methods, and legacy, allowing reflection on her key past projects and active engagement with the continuing vitality of her work.

Please click here for event information and performance dates. 

Distinctive architecture, uninhibited ocean views, bold supergraphics, shared open space, and meditative tranquility—these were the beginnings of the Sea Ranch, a beacon of Modernism on the Northern California coast. Designed by a small group of Bay Area architects and designers in the early 1960s, the development was envisioned as a progressive, inclusive community, guided by the idealistic principles of good design, economy of space, and harmony with the natural environment.

This exhibition brings together original sketches and drawings from the project's designers, along with archival images, photographs of the Sea Ranch today, and a full-scale architectural replica. The environmentally attentive design philosophies explored at the Sea Ranch, along with the now-iconic graphics, resonated globally and continue to influence architecture and design today.

The exhibition features works by artist and architect Lawrence Halprin. Click here for more information and tickets.

Architectural and urban history scholar Emily Bills writes about how a young, talented photographer went on to capture some of the most iconic photos of Frank Lloyd Wright and his work, while forming a close bond with the architect.

The inimitable R. Buckminster Fuller, famous for his geodesic domes among many other inventions, is getting an exhibition that’s a first-of-its-kind for Los Angeles, the city he last called home. Centered largely around the limited-edition print Inventions portfolio, R. Buckminster Fuller: Inventions and Models will feature an array of prints, objects, and structural models produced in the last years of his life that highlight the radical thoughts of one of the 20^th century’s most iconic architectural thinkers.

Austin's newest public art project may not solve the city's traffic woes, but it will make the experience more beautiful. 

As part of the city's sixth annual "TEMPO 2018" temporary exhibition, local artist Laurie Frick is reimagining the Lamar Bridge Underpass, two 500-foot concrete retaining walls that stretch from West Fifth Street to Lady Bird Lake. The temporary piece marries Frick's skills as a data-driven artist with Austin's penchant for public art to create sweeping, colorful murals along both sides of Lamar Boulevard. 

Pedro E. Guerrero: The Photographer of Mid-Century New Canaan opens Sept. 28 at the New Canaan Historical Society. The exhibition includes 25 of Guerrero's black and white photos, many depicting the architecture for which the town is famous, and will coincide with the Society's much anticipated MOdern House Day Tour on October 20th. A second gallery will be devoted to the life of Guerrero and his family in New Canaan during some fo the town's most tumultuous - and interesting - years. 

Click below for information about related events.