January 18-April 6, 2003
Preview Reception January 17, 2003 6:00 PM

Institute of Contemporary Art
University of Pennsylvania
118 South 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Philadelphia, PA— Guest curated by the architect and theorist Greg Lynn, this exhibition includes works by artists, designers, and architects that reflect an emerging sensibility Lynn has labeled “intricacy.” This notion refers, in the abstract, to a new visual and spatial language of folding, interweaving, and layering—parts relating to wholes—that has been heralded by the digital and genetic engineering revolutions. Intricacy announces a gestalt of production: not just CAD-CAM drawings for architects or digital video for artists, but a new way of thinking about the inter-relation of concepts and techniques on an abstract, holistic scale. This exhibition synthesizes a vast geography of ideas and practices drawn from many disciplines and cultural fields.

Lynn will design the exhibition’s display framework and a central installation. Akin to mid- and late-century machine and material design exhibitions, “Intricacy” will create an experimental environment through which visitors can walk and physically experience the art and architecture.  Participants include artists Bonnie Collura, Tom Friedman, Fabian Marcaccio, and David Reed; architects Karl Chu, Peter Eisenman (Eisenman Architects), Farshid Moussazi and Alejandro Zaera-Polo (Foreign Office Architects, Ltd.), Preston Scott Cohen, Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto, Wolf Prix, and Nader Tehrani (Office DA).

One of the most innovative theorists of architecture and technology at work today, Lynn serves on the faculty at ETH Zurich and the University of California, Los Angeles and is the principal of the architecture firm Greg Lynn FORM, based in Los Angeles.  Greg Lynn FORM is currently working in collaborative partnerships with a variety of architects and designers on a range of projects including a 150 euros renovation; a 15 million dollar museum in Costa Rica for the Ark of the World Foundation, scheduled for completion in 2006; and a coffee and tea set for Alessi.

In conjunction with “Intricacy,” ICA will co-host, with the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Architecture, a symposium addressing issues raised by the exhibition. A 50-page catalog publication, made as a tabloid-style magazine, and featuring essays by Lynn and a preface by ICA Director Claudia Gould, will accompany the exhibition.

CONTACT

publicity@icaphila.org