Between now and Sept. 16, anyone who walks through the Neutra VDL Research House in Los Angeles will experience Architectones, a collection of site-specific sculptures designed in response to the iconic house and its owner/architect. The life-sized pieces were created by Paris-based artist Xavier Veilhan, who has done several other installations set within famous works of architecture such as Versailles, the Hatfield House, and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
While designing the series, Veilhan and his family lived in Neutra’s house and studio. Veilhan created large-format pieces that visually play off the home’s architectural details including the expansive glass façade, a rooftop reflecting pool, and the indoor/outdoor living spaces. The artist loosely interpreted both Neutra’s personal and professional history through the sculptures—mostly crafted in metal—which range from abstract responses to literal homages of the architect.
“This house is about the quality of light and its connection to the outdoors … the interior of the building is the perfect equation between people, function, and environment,” writes Veilhan in the installation description. “I want to celebrate and expand the concept of modernity that this represents.”
Images of the exhibition will be projected across Los Angeles on more than 80 digital display billboards. A film screening, special compositions, and a cocktail reception are just a few of the related events planned during the remainder of the show. For more information on exhibition hours, additional events, and dates for future installations, visit www.architectones.info.
Architectones will travel to other modernist buildings, including several famous houses, around the world after it concludes its stint in L.A. The next setting will be in Marseille, France, on the roof of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse. That display is scheduled for spring 2013. Future sites include St. Bernadette du Banlay by Claude Parent and Paul Virilio in Nevers, France; and the Melnikov House in Moscow.
