Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen are two figures paradigmatic of the art of the second half of the 20th century who, starting with pop art, have brought a new vision of what they themselves call ‘private art in public spaces.’ One of the clearest examples is that of Capsa de Mistos. (more…)
This building, which serves as an exhibition space for the Vitra Furniture Company at its headquarters outside the town of Weil am Rhein in southern Germany, near the Swiss border, was Gehry’s premiere in Europe, a continent where he thereafter created a major body of his most important works. This commission offered Gehry his first opportunity to create a design for the European context and was his first project to be built in Europe. Gehry’s design strategy, which had been perfected and experimented with in his earlier American projects, was honed to perfection for his first European commission. (more…)
Britain’s first public art gallery was crated thanks to the will of Sir Francis Bourgeois, who bequeathed his private collection to the public in 1811, together with a request that his friend Sir John Soane design it. The picture gallery opened in 1817. Soane’s design has since become the inspiration for a number of museums and galleries worldwide. (more…)
In 1921, Adam Reed and Harry McClelland bought the Peters and Reed Pottery in Zanesville, Ohio. The firm continued production of garden wares and introduced several new art lines: Sheen, Powder Blue, Crystalline, and Drip. The factory was sold in 1941 to Lawton Gonder. (more…)
After the dramatic earthquake that took place in 1995, the authorities of Hyogo prefecture and those of the city of Kobe proposed the reconstruction of the oceanfront of the city as a symbol of the physical and moral recovery of the community. This symbol is located to the east of the city, at one end of the harbour where important iron and steel industries stood. (more…)
The Ontario College of Art & Design is Canada’s largest university of art and design, and it is the third-largest of the more than 40 professional art and design universities in North America. It was established as the Ontario School of Art in 1912. (more…)