March 28th, 2007
Alvar Aalto at the Barbican
I was looking forward to visiting the exhibition of the Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto’s work at the Barbican Art Gallery. So this week I decided to take some time off work and spend a morning at the Barbican.
I wish I hadn’t. The exhibition is rather dull and uninspiring. If you’re interested in Aalto’s work you’d be better off buying a good book - you won’t learn anything new or more from this exhibition than from a good book or some research on the internet..
It’s a shame really, because Aalto really was one of the masters of 20th century architecture and a sensitive exhibition could have much better reflected his sensual yet rational designs. The reason why this exhibition is not as successful as it could have been is perhaps because it shows Aalto’s work “through the eyes” of the Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban. His interpretation of Aalto’s work is rather one-directional and lacks depth - in contrast to the architect’s sensual work. Some of Ban’s own designs were shown in addition to the Aalto exhibition, and these were in themselves rather interesting.
The exhibition runs until the 13th May. If you’re in the area, pop in and check it out for yourself - but don’t bother making a special trip to see it like I did. Also, I’m not sure it’s really worth £8.00. As I’ve said, I’d rather allocate this money towards a good book about his work.
If you’ve seen the exhibition, let us know what you think about it!