Exhibition marks the first retrospective of Modernist Architect Paul Rudolph ’40
New York, NY. – The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents the first-ever major museum exhibition to examine the career of the influential 20th-century architect Paul Rudolph ‘40, a second-generation Modernist who came to prominence during the 1950s and 1960s. “Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph,” on view through Sunday, March 16, showcases the full breadth of Rudolph’s contributions to architecture—from his early experimental houses in Florida to his civic commissions rendered in concrete, from his utopian visions for urban megastructures and mixed-use skyscrapers to his extraordinary, immersive New York interiors. The exhibition features a diverse range of over 80 works, from small objects he collected throughout his life to a mix of material from his office, including drawings, models, furniture, material samples and photographs.
“Paul Rudolph was a pioneer and an iconic figure among the architectural community, and this long-overdue presentation analyzes the immense impact that his trailblazing work continues to have on contemporary architects and the development of our urban spaces,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “Materialized Space not only underscores the radical thinking that Rudolph imparted to the Modernist era but also invites viewers into the complex artistic process of architectural development, illuminating the ways in which the spaces we occupy come to life.”
Rudolph attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the School of Architecture and Applied Arts in 1940, accepting his first commission, the Atkinson Residence on East Samford, while a student. Later in his career, he returned to the Plains to design the Applebee-Shaw residence on Chewacla Drive for his former art history professor and department head, Frank Applebee. The architect’s Alabama connection is further exemplified by his notable works in the state, including an Athens home and the iconic Tuskegee Institute Chapel. An interior perspective of the chapel is included as one of the Met’s exhibition objects and the catalog cover image, with lines layered in colored pencil over a drawing copy print that conveys energy and illumination in the space.
Auburn University offered Rudolph the commission to design The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in 1996, but he died in 1997 before beginning the design process. Auburn Museum Executive Director Cindi Malinick recently toured the exhibition during an Association of Art Museum Directors conference in New York, New York.
“Materialized Space was nothing short of spectacular. Rudolph’s hand drawings and renderings reinforce how art and architecture are interchangeable, embodying the creative process and meticulous craftsmanship that define both disciplines,” said Malinick. “I hope that any member of the Auburn Family in or visiting the New York area this spring will make a point to see this incredible accomplishment and testament to the tradition of Auburn’s nationally ranked architecture program.”
Through a careful selection of projects, the exhibition shows how Rudolph’s work engaged with key moments of cultural, economic and political significance during the 20th century, including post-war construction and expansion, urban renewal and housing policies in the 1960s, and the economic boom in Asia in the 1980s.
Many of Rudolph’s New York projects are featured—most notably Robert Moses’s unrealized Lower Manhattan Expressway scheme, a controversial proposal to link New Jersey to Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island via the Holland Tunnel and the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges. Designed to leave the city’s infrastructure intact, Rudolph’s proposed Y-shaped corridor introduced a new approach to city building in which transportation networks would bind communities rather than divide them. Ultimately, this project was never realized due to strong opposition citing that the project would destroy a vibrant urban neighborhood and displace communities.
“Materialized Space” also examines why Brutalism—a 1950s post-war era architectural style that prioritized structural elements over decorative design—and architectural projects in concrete during the 1960s and ’70s continue to be divisive and controversial. Rudolph’s regular use of concrete and Brutalist methodology was a factor in his fall from public favor during the 1970s, perhaps offering insight into why so many of his projects have been demolished during the past decade and lost forever.
“The refusal to be categorized makes Paul Rudolph a challenging architect to summarize, but this same quality also makes him a fascinating topic for research, driving new audiences to discover, or rediscover, his work every day,” said Abraham Thomas, The Met’s Daniel Brodsky Curator of Modern Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts. “Rudolph’s intricate, visionary drawings and dramatic completed buildings represent a singular voice within the crowded, variable terrain of architectural late Modernism—one that will continue to prove both spellbinding and confounding for many years to come.”
The exhibition is made possible by The Modern Circle. Additional support is provided by The Daniel and Estrellita Brodsky Foundation, Ann M. Spruill and Daniel H. Cantwell, and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Library of Congress’s Paul Marvin Rudolph Archive.
For more, visit Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph online at metmuseum.org.
Installation views of “Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph,” on view September 30, 2024–March 16, 2025 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Eileen Travell, courtesy of The Met.
