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Renzo Piano

Renzo Piano, Jean-Marie-Tjibaou Cultural Center, 1991–98 © Renzo Piano Building Workshop, photography by Pantz Pierre-Alain

Renzo Piano, Jean-Marie-Tjibaou Cultural Center, 1991–98

© Renzo Piano Building Workshop, photography by Pantz Pierre-Alain

About

Born into a family of builders, Piano connects his coastal upbringing in Genoa to the evolution of certain constants in his architecture: an obsession with light and its effect on the dynamic potential of built space. He formed the Piano & Rogers Atelier with Richard Rogers in 1971. The same year, the London–based studio won the commission for the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris—an audacious challenge that transformed the academic idea of the museum into a highly flexible toolbox building, with all technical functions fully exposed. Since then, Piano has become the most sought-after museum architect in the world for his ability to harmonize buildings with their surroundings and the artworks exhibited within them. Innovative technologies enhance these highly functional spaces, but succumb visually to the serene formal neutrality, guided by natural light, for which the Building Workshop is known—which Piano refers to as “the immaterial elements of space.”

Renzo Piano was born in 1937 in Genoa, Italy. He graduated in 1964 from Politecnico University, Italy. He founded the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 1981. Today, a team of approximately 150 people work with the Italian architect at his Paris, Genoa, and New York offices. The firm has become renowned for some of the most innovative architectural projects of the past three decades. Recent solo exhibitions include “un regard construit,” Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2000); “Architekturen des Lebens,” Neue National Galerie, Berlin (2000); “The Architect’s Studio,” Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2003); “On Tour with Renzo Piano and Building Workshop: Selected Projects,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California (2005); “Celebrate Architecture! Renzo Piano and Building Workshop,” High Museum of Art, Atlanta (2005); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas (2006); and “Renzo Piano Building Workshop: Répons,” Arc en Rêve Centre d’Architecture, France (2010).

Piano currently lives and works in Paris, France.

Museum Exhibitions

Installation view, Giuseppe Penone: Des corps de pierre, Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France, September 9–November 26, 2017

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Giuseppe Penone
Des corps de pierre

September 9–November 26, 2017
Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France
chateau-la-coste.com

A selection of works by Giuseppe Penone have been installed in the newly constructed art pavilion at Château La Coste, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Large-scale bronze and marble works and works on paper are presented both inside and outside the gallery to create a dialogue between art, architecture, and nature.

Installation view, Giuseppe Penone: Des corps de pierre, Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France, September 9–November 26, 2017

Carsten Höller, Y, 2003. Photo by Attilio Maranzano

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Carsten Höller
Y

June 23–September 10, 2017
Centro Botín, Santander, Spain
www.centrobotin.org

This exhibition, curated by Vicente Todolí and Udo Kittelmann, marks Carsten Höller’s first show in Spain and the debut show for the Centro Botín, designed by Renzo Piano. The show features new works alongside a selection of well-known projects, some specially restaged for the Centro Botín, including Elevator Bed (2010). Separately, Höller has created a new site-specific light installation for the Pereda Gardens, which is active from sunset to sunrise.

Carsten Höller, Y, 2003. Photo by Attilio Maranzano