Exhibit Features Yale's A&A Renovation

Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel of New York's Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects are the subjects of a new exhibition at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Museum director Deborah Velders put the show together about the architects - who also designed the museum it is being shown in. According to Velders in an article in the Star News,

"Before I actually even got to this job I went to see Charles Gwathmey," Velders said. "Part of the reason I interviewed here was because (the Cameron) was a Gwathmey Siegel building. It's not that I'm so knowledgeable about architecture, I just knew they were an important architectural firm and it impressed me that the leadership here was serious about having an important art museum, just (by) their choice of architect. So I thought a good show sometime would be an exhibition devoted to their work, because I understood that people here didn't like the building."

After their meeting, Velders said, Gwathmey "walked me to the door and said, 'I'll help you.' And now here we are, four years later."

The resulting exhibit, "Inspiration and Transformation" examines five projects along the architects' careers over the past 40 years. The most recent work featured in the exhibition is Gwathmey's design for Yale's Art & Architecture building (now known as Rudolph Hall):

Featuring a stunning photograph of the building illuminated by a lightbox, the display also includes a series of paintings of squares by Joseph Alpers, an artist who also taught at Yale. (The paintings are owned by Gwathmey and are usually housed in his New York apartment.) A video loop will show the 3-D modeling that was used to design the complex project, which Sprunt (the curator of the exhibit) said might not have been possible without the aid of computers.

For Velders, "Inspiration and Transformation" has "the potential of trying to inform people in this community, and visitors, about the importance of architecture," she said. "Having had the great privilege of working in buildings by significant architects, great buildings I would say, I've seen the difference (in) how you work and live and feel just being in it."

If you want to go see the show:

What: “Gwathmey Siegel: Inspiration and Transformation,” featuring the work of American architectural firm Gwathmey Siegel and Associates Architects

When: Public opening is 7-8 p.m. June 22, and the show will remain on display through January 10, 2010

Where: Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S. 17th St., Wilmington South Carolina
Details: 395-5999 or www.CameronArtMuseum.com. Museum hours are 11 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.