The Barbican’s latest show, Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969-2009, explores and offers a refreshing and contemporary twist to nature’s long-standing connection with art and architecture.
See more image from the exhibition
Exploring the transformations of their ever-changing relationship in the past four decades, the exhibition examines examples ranging from Land Art and utopian architecture, to new experimental designs and environmental activism.
The show combines work by contemporary artists like Tomas Saraceno and Mark Dion, established masters like Joseph Beuys and Richard Buckminster Fuller, well-known architects such as R&Sie(n) and Diller Scofidio + Renfro and also younger talent like art and architecture collective A12.
Highlights of the show include futuristic 1970s architectural designs by Wolf Hilbertz and the Ant Farm collective, a documentary by filmmaker Luke Fowler and a reconstructed tree by artist Anya Gallaccio.
There's also a real-life tropical forest growing in the gallery by artist Henrik Håkansson, as well as a reconstructed Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome which you can test out for yourself.
The exhibition offers a dramatic mix of visionary designs working with nature, spreading across a variety of media and at the same time raising awareness for environmental issues.
As you'd expect from an exhibition about nature, the show is not confined to the concrete interior walls of the Barbican Centre. An especially commissioned installation – the Dalston Mill - has been constructed by EXYZT architects (the collaborative who gave us the Architecture Foundation Lido during last year’s Architecture festival on Dalston Lane.
There's also the 'Goodbye' piece by Heather and Ivan Morison on the ground floor Barbican terrace and a restaging of Agnes Denes' 'Wheatfield: A Confrontation' is going to appear this summer from the 15th July at an abandoned railway line, off Dalston Lane.
ADDRESS
Barbican Art Gallery
Silk Street
London EC2Y 8DS
TELEPHONE
44.20 7638 4141
-
How architects are redefining disaster relief through designDisaster relief architecture is a critical component of humanitarian aid across the globe; read our ultimate guide on how architects can make a difference through design
-
Paul Gulati on storytelling, multi-sensory design and the evolution of Universal Design Studio'f a space works – not just as a beautiful image, but for the people using it – then we’ve done our job,' he tells us
-
Seiko and Datsun mark a shared heritage and history with three new limited-edition watchesThe Japanese brands pay tribute to the Datsun 240Z and Prospex Speedtimer in a new collaboration
