James Wines discusses the transformative influence of Frederick Kiesler. This presentation is followed by a conversation on Kiesler’s impact and legacy with Wines and Graham Foundation director Sarah Herda.

This discussion builds on Wines’ essay, “Frederick Kiesler: Environmental Visionary,” as published in Frederick Kiesler: Face to Face with the Avant-Garde: Essays on Network and Impact (edited by Peter Bogner and Gerd Zillner, Frederick Kiesler Foundation, Birkhäuser, 2019).

This event is hosted via Zoom and presented in conjunction with the exhibition, Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines, on view at the Graham Foundation through March 15, 2025. 

James Wines, winner of the 2013 National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement, is the founder of SITE, an environmental arts organization in New York. His visual art, architecture, landscape, and public projects are based on a response to surrounding contexts. He has lectured in fifty-nine countries and contributed essays to publications around the world. Books about Wines include De-Architecture (Rizzoli International, 1987) and Green Architecture (Taschen, 2000). There are 22 monographs and museum catalogues about Wines’ work with SITE which includes 150 projects in eleven countries. Wines has won 25 art and design awards, including the 1995 Chrysler Award for Design Innovation, and is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Kress Foundation, American Academy in Rome, Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Graham Foundation, and Ford Foundation.

Note: This event is virtual (Zoom) and does not include an in-person component.

Image: BEST Notch Building, Retail Store, Sacramento, CA, 1979. Designed by SITE for BEST Products Company, Inc. Copyright James Wines, courtesy SITE

For more information on the exhibition, Frederick Kiesler: Vision Machines, click here.