Fifteen years of architecture on paper – from 1972 to 1987 – are featured in an exhibition at the AXA Gallery in New York. Showing until 19 October are 140 designs by the most important architects from the period: Peter Eisenman, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Thom Mayne and Bernard Tschumi.

A time period, spanning from the start of the seventies to almost the end of the eighties, dominated by economic crisis and the resulting stagnation in terms of building. ‘Not much practice but lots of theory’ is what might sum up the doctrine of the time and which in fact resulted in a great intellectual ferment and the formation of a stimulating experimental scene, rich in debate, criticism and social commitment.

The result is around hundred projects, sketches and drawings often never built. But of great worth and incomparable beauty and depth, underlines curator Jeffrey Kipnis who has already presented the exhibition at the Wexner Center in Columbus last year and is now presenting it in New York in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art.

The exhibition has borrowed a metaphor from a musical suite - the ‘Symphonie Fantastiqe’ by Hector Berlioz – and is organised in five ‘movements’. The Ouverture which is by American graphic design studio Imaginary Forces, followed by the ‘Variazione’ and ‘Scherzo’ with collages by Eisenman for ‘House VI’ and ‘Exodus’ by Rem Koolhaas, the ‘Micromegas’ by Libeskind, the ‘Sixth Street House’ project by Thom Mayne (Morphosis) and explorations around Manhattan by Bernard Tschumi. Concluding the ‘symphony’ is the post modern furniture of Scott Burton and sculptural work of Greg Lynn and Fabian Marcaccio.

until 19.10.2002
Perfect Acts of Architecture
AXA Gallery
787 Seventh Avenue at 51st Street, New York
T +1-212-5544818
https://www.axa-art.com