The Arts Club of Chicago is presenting a truly special exhibition this month - Bertrand Goldberg: Reflections is a comprehensive, yet intimate look at the works by this great artist. The show, opening September 16, is made up of Goldberg’s personal collection of art and artifacts, alongside images of Goldberg-designed buildings, furniture, fabrications, and jewelry. The exhibition has been designed and installed by John Vinci, along with Bertrand Goldberg’s architect son, Geoffrey, and it pays homage to the influential work that Bertrand Goldberg produced throughout his life.
Reflections takes the viewer through the sources and influences on Goldberg’s vision by looking at his own collection of art, his friendships with artists and intellectuals, his photographs, and designs for architects. This “behind the scenes look” allows one to dive deeper into Goldberg’s life and help explicate the genius and infamous works that he created, both for those who’ve long admired his work, and for those who don’t know the architect beyond his famous ‘corn cob towers’ - Marina City.
Bertrand Goldberg was born in Chicago and he left behind a legacy of architecture that contributes to the city’s beautiful skyline. Goldberg’s most iconic construction, Marina City, sits on the bank of the Chicago River, and marked the beginning of his work in large-scale commissions. Goldberg’s vision for the project was revolutionary, as it was intended to be a full-service, city-living community, in response to the suburban flight that was happening in the 1950s. Residents could live, dine and park in the residential community. Today, condo buyers expect such amenities as standard.
Goldberg’s work is seen throughout our city, and this exhibition has a special place in our hearts, giving us greater insight into the buildings we pass by daily. Another famous building of the architect’s, Northwestern Memorial’s Prentice Women’s Hospital (the pod-like Streeterville structure with round windows) is the current subject of a preservation society debate, so there is no doubt that the close examination of Goldberg’s work is especially timely.
The Arts Club show is a companion exhibition to Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention being held at The Art Institute of Chicago from September 17 to January 15 and is the first comprehensive retrospective of his career.
"My message, I think, is much more important either than myself personally, or than the quick identification as the round-building architect. I am talking about the performance of people in a social system, about the performance of people in the city."
-Bertrand Goldberg
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