John Portman – art and architecture opens at high museum

ATLANTA, GA – October, 2009 – Beginning October 17, 2009, The High Museum of Art will be the sole venue for “John Portman: Art & Architecture,” an exhibition featuring architectural projects, furniture, paintings, and sculpture by Atlanta-based architect and artist John Portman. The fifteen completed and current architectural projects featured span five decades of national and international developments, including the Hyatt Regency Atlanta (1967) that is globally renowned as the first modern atrium hotel. The projects are presented with large-scale photographs, design plans, elevations, text, articles, and in some cases, architectural models. The exhibition also features furniture, paintings and sculpture by Portman—most never before publicly exhibited.

“John Portman: Art & Architecture” is organized by the High Museum of Art, and is curated by Jeffrey Grove, former Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalogue with a major essay by Paul Goldberger, noted historian and Architecture Critic for The New Yorker since 1997. The catalogue is distributed by the University of Georgia Press and includes a Preface by Grove and contributions from other writers. “John Portman: Art & Architecture” will be on view in the Anne Cox Chambers Wing of the High from October 17, 2009 through April 18, 2010.

“John Portman has not only radically altered the skyline of his home city, Atlanta, but cities throughout the world,” stated curator Grove. “His reconsideration of how architecture should function and the experience it should offer visitors completely changed the industry. Early in his career, Portman understood that to realize his vision completely, he must add “Developer” to his role as Architect. All these themes will be addressed in the exhibition.”

For more information on the exhibit, please visit the High Museum Current Exhibition Page: John Portman: Art & Architecture.