Radical Nature exhibition, London
19 June 2009 to 18 October 2009
House of the Century, 1971–73, a private house, by architecture collective Ant Farm
The Barbican’s latest show, Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969-2009, explores and offers a refreshing and contemporary twist to nature’s long-standing connection with art and architecture.
Exploring the transformations of their ever-changing relationship in the past four decades, the exhibition examines examples ranging from Land Art and utopian architecture, to new experimental designs and environmental activism. The show combines work by contemporary artists like Tomas Saraceno and Mark Dion, established masters like Joseph Beuys and Richard Buckminster Fuller, well-known architects such as R&Sie(n) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro and also younger talent like art and architecture collective A12.
Highlights of the show include futuristic 1970s architectural designs by Wolf Hilbertz and the Ant Farm collective, a documentary by filmmaker Luke Fowler and a reconstructed tree by artist Anya Gallaccio.There’s also a real-life tropical forest growing in the gallery by artist Henrik Håkansson, as well as a reconstructed Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome which you can test out for yourself.
The exhibition offers a dramatic mix of visionary designs working with nature, spreading across a variety of media and at the same time raising awareness for environmental issues.
As you’d expect from an exhibition about nature, the show is not confined to the concrete interior walls of the Barbican Centre. An especially commissioned installation – the Dalston Mill – has been constructed by EXYZT architects (the collaborative who gave us the Architecture Foundation Lido during last year’s Architecture festival on Dalston Lane.
There’s also the ‘Goodbye’ piece by Heather and Ivan Morison on the ground floor Barbican terrace and a restaging of Agnes Denes’ ‘Wheatfield: A Confrontation’ is going to appear this summer from the 15th July at an abandoned railway line, off Dalston Lane.
Richard Buckminster Fuller, US Pavilion for Expo 67, 1967. Commissioned by the United States Information Agency for the Montreal World Fair. Courtesy The Estate of R.Buckminster Fuller
http://www.barbican.org.uk
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