Research

  • Philip Johnson: Beyond Original
  • GRANTEE
    Henry Urbach
    GRANT YEAR
    2010

Philip Johnson: Beyond Original addresses the life, work, and legacy of a figure whose influence on the development of twentieth-century American architecture, as well as whose presence in modern art museums, is undeniable. This project considers interrelated facets of Johnson’s professional identity: architect, critic, collector, and curator. Sections of the exhibition and/or publication allow each of these identities to unfold, demonstrating the strategic decisions and affiliations that enabled Johnson to establish relevance and renown in each of these fields.

Henry Urbach is the director of the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Previously Urbach served as the Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2006. His exhibitions at SFMOMA include Your Tempo: Olafur Eliasson, Cut: Revealing the Section, 246 and Counting: Recent Architecture and Design Acquisitions, Double Down: Two Visions of Vegas, Patterns of Speculation: J. MAYER H.; Sensate: Bodies and Design; and How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now, designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro. Prior to joining SFMOMA, for nearly ten years Urbach directed Henry Urbach Architecture, a gallery of contemporary art and architecture in New York. He completed his MArch at Columbia University and his MA in history and theory of architecture at Princeton University. Urbach has taught at UCLA, Parsons School of Design, and other architecture schools in the New York area, and currently teaches Strategies in Exhibiting Architecture in the CCA's Curatorial Practice Program. He has written about art and architecture for many catalogues, books, magazines, and journals.