Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s Grand Reopening

The Pulitzer Arts Foundation announced last year that it was closing to convert some unused office and storage into new galleries. After an extended renovation period, the Pulitzer reopened on Friday, May 1 with two new galleries on the lower level of its Tadao Ando-designed building. Developed in consultation with Ando and his office, this project marked the first major alteration to the Pulitzer building since it opened in 2001 and nearly doubled the amount of gallery space for exhibitions and programming.

Previously used for office and storage, the converted lower level enables the Pulitzer to expand its curatorial and public program, engage with wider range of collaborators across disciplines, and experiment with the in-gallery experience. The renovation adds 3,700 square feet of programmable space to the institution’s existing galleries and enhances its role as an important creative engine in St. Louis and the field.

In conjunction with the Opening Weekend, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation celebrated three related exhibitions of Alexander Calder, Richard Tuttle, and Fred Sandback. The grand reopening reception, Friday, May 1, featured a public commission by the award-winning composer David Lang. Written for soprano and alto voices, this piece spotlighted an ensemble of local singers from St. Louis Children’s Choir, the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus, and Webster University, creating a glow of sound and enlivening the art and architecture.

The three exhibitions run from May 1- September 12, 2015. Calder Lightness explores Alexander Calder’s profound impact on the sculptural medium through his iconic large-scale hanging mobiles, early stabiles, and standing mobiles, as well as his less familiar constellations. Guest curated by Carmen Gimenez, known for her 2003 exhibition Calder: Gravity and Grace at the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, the exhibition will highlight sixteen pivotal works, presented in Pulitzer’s spacious, light-filled upper level galleries.

Occupying one of the Pulitzer’s new lower-level galleries, Fred Sandback 64 Three-Part Pieces presents a series of important early sculptures. The series showcases three tightly drawn lines of yarn, which can be extended in sixty-four different configurations involving the walls and the floor. A US debut, the series has not been shown since its 1975 premier in Munich when only six of the sixty-four possible configurations were revealed.

Richard Tuttle Wire Pieces will take the second gallery in the new lower level. Featuring approximately fourteen wire pieces first made in 1972, the exhibition will explore the artist’s use of line and volume to form a multi-layered sculptural experience. Installed by Tuttle, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see this selection of works together.

Through engaging exhibitions, programs, and partnerships with artists, curators, and innovators across disciplines, Pulitzer Arts Foundation strives to inspire both the St. Louis community and international arts audiences to think differently about creativity in daily life. Since its opening in October 2001, Pulitzer Arts Foundation has become both a sanctuary for the ever-evolving experience of art and a laboratory for unprecedented collaborations and endeavors.