Refashioning Architecture with Annabelle Selldorf
The esteemed architect reflects on her career on the occasion of her historic collaboration with the Frick Collection
The esteemed architect reflects on her career on the occasion of her historic collaboration with the Frick Collection
This conversation has been recorded as part of Art:LIVE, an online programme created in collaboration with Deutsche Bank. Devised for audiences in a more distanced world, the content opens doors to inspiring spaces and important conversations, and offers exclusive access to artists, collectors, curators, and creatives in diverse fields.
Taking the theme of ‘Reflect, Refocus, Reset’, this edition responds to the cautious optimism of the present moment and lessons from the recent past, and includes: an intimate talk with Marina Abramovic in her NYC loft; a tour with Jessica Morgan through the expanded Dia:Chelsea, re-opening after two years of renovation, and the new site-specific commission by Lucy Raven; a conversation with jewellery designer Delfina Delettrez and artist Nico Vascellari at their home in Rome; and a reflection by architect Annabelle Selldorf on her career and practice, following her landmark collaboration with the Frick Collection on its relocation to Marcel Breuer’s former Whitney Museum.
Annabelle Selldorf is the Principal of Selldorf Architects, a 60-person architectural design practice that she founded in New York City in 1988. The firm creates public and private spaces that manifest a clear and modern sensibility to enduring impact. Selldorf Architects has worked on public and private projects that range from museums and libraries to a recycling facility; and at scales from the construction of new buildings to the restoration of historic interiors and exhibition design. The firm’s clients include cultural institutions such as the Frick Collection, the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The Clark Art Institute, Neue Galerie New York, and Luma Arles. In addition, the firm has created numerous galleries for David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Gladstone Gallery among others, and designed exhibitions for the Whitney Museum, Frieze Masters, Gagosian, and the Venice Biennale.
Born and raised in Cologne, Germany, Selldorf received a Bachelor's of Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Master's of Architecture from Syracuse University. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and serves on the Board of the Architectural League of New York, the World Monuments Fund, the Chinati Foundation, and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Selldorf is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the recipient of the 2016 Medal of Honor from the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter.
