Architecture | Mario Botta: Flashback 2009 to Bechtler Musuem of Modern Art

Charlotte, North Carolina’s Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, built in 2009 by postmodern architect Mario Botta, is one of the finest ceramic clad buildings in the United States.The building itself is exhibit A in a handsome exhibition currently on display which surveys Botta’s career.

Mario Botta: Architecture and Memory will run through July 25.

A video tour of the Mario Botta exhibition currently on display at the Bechtler Museum. Video courtesy of the museum.

The museum states of the exhibit spans Botta’s 50 year career, featuring sketches, wood models, and photographs which exemplify the architect’s use of geometric shapes that juxtapose lightness and weight.

Botta’s work ranges from private residences in the Swiss Alps to urban projects in Europe and Asia. Beyond the Bechtler, his only other work in the United States was the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Botta once commented that museums were important because they are “new” meeting places, which satisfy a more widespread free time. It’s the architect’s task to design such buildings with that in mind.

The exhibit features materials related to 30 of Botta’s museums, theaters, libraries and religious spaces.

While at the Bechtler, be sure to check out the excellent Firebird sculpture by artist Niki de Saint Phalle, which we think is fine companion piece to Botta’s building.

The artist was the only female member of the Nouveau réalisme movement and a part of America’s contemporary Pop art scene. The piece is an example of the artist’s work with voluminous female forms which were often constructed in joyful dancing poses. The sculpture was purchased by a patron of the museum in 2009 and was featured in a larger exhibition of her work in 2011.

Featured image: The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, designed by architect Mario Botta.

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