Message from the Director

I am pleased to announce that The Glass House will have a new director, Henry Urbach.

Henry most recently served as Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), where his exhibitions were widely lauded. Mr. Urbach left SFMOMA in May 2011 to pursue independent writing and curatorial work, including research toward a project about the Glass House compound as a laboratory for curatorial experimentation.

Henry began his career as a project management associate at Carnegie Hall, during the period of its restoration and renovation, foreshadowing a career dedicated to producing spaces that support creative labor and its power to inspire. He holds a degree in History and Theory of Architecture from Princeton University (AB 1984 Magna Cum Laude), a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (M.Arch. 1990), and a Master of Arts in History and Theory of Architecture from Princeton University.

He has taught and published extensively in the fields of architecture, art, design, and culture with writings that encompass theory, criticism, and journalism; and he has taught at numerous schools of architecture.

In 1997, Henry launched Henry Urbach Architecture, a unique New York-based gallery committed to joining the worlds of contemporary art and experimental architecture. He ran this business for nearly ten years, achieving international recognition.

I met Henry last spring and was struck by his energy and enthusiasm for the site.  He seems to me ideal to lead the dedicated Glass House team into even more innovative and exciting programmatic terrain, and to push restoration programs on track.  I congratulate Henry, and also Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Vice President of Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on his astute choice.

Henry’s tenure will commence on April 2.

Rena Zurofsky

Interim Director, Philip Johnson Glass House

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Message from the Director, David Whitney, Director, Glass House, Henry Urbach, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Rena Zurofsky

Message From The Director

January 9, 2011

Happy New Year!

I write as air finally chills with winter, although the ground remains resolutely brown, denying the season its romance.  The Glass House site is closed to the public until May 2nd.  However, the staff is hard at work with many off-season projects.

Here is a look at how we spend the winter:

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Conversations in Context, Dine with Design, Glass House Conversations, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Birch Books, Conversations in Context, corporate partners, Curator, David Whitney, Dine with Design, Donate, essays, foundations, Frank Stella, friends, Fundraiser, Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Hicks Stone, Hurricane Irene, Interim Director, Library/Study, National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Canaan Library, New York City, off-season, Painting Gallery, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, property manager, Public Relations, Rena Zurofsky, sponsors, Support, The Library of Philip Johnson, winter

Support The Glass House

Dear Friends, Architecture, Art and Audience are our three motivations. The Philip Johnson Glass House is simply one of the most significant modernist sites in America, the private home that inspired a revolution in mid-20th century living that extends to the present day. The site’s remaining art collection provides a fascinating insight to the curatorial talents of Johnson’s partner, David Whitney. Between them, Johnson and Whitney significantly shaped the exhibitions and collections of the Museum of Modern Art’s formative decades. In opening the site for tours and in creating deeper and richer web content, our goal is to educate and inspire you, our local, national, and international audience.To accomplish our goals of preserving, restoring and performing original research, we count on the generosity of our supporters. We count on you!This year, more than ever, we need your help to balance our budget: Our endowment covers only 40% of our operations, preservation and programs.

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Books, Educational Partnership, From the Collection, Glass House Conversations, Glass House Design Store, Glass House Films, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Donation, Glass House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Support

NEW: Message From The Director

November 16, 2011

As our tour season winds down to its November 30 close, we keep active. In the past few weeks we’ve announced some wonderful collaborations which will stretch through the holidays, and some of them beyond.

For any of you in the greater metropolitan area, please don’t miss the exquisite exhibition of James Welling’s Glass House photographs on view in the lobby of the Four Seasons Restaurant through January 2, 2012. A collaboration between The Glass House, David Zwirner, and the Four Seasons, all photographs are offered for sale, with a large percentage benefiting The Glass House.

Entering the lobby is free, so don’t hesitate to see this beautiful show.  Plus, a short turn to the ladies’ room will give you an intimate view of the same Fortuny fabric that Philip Johnson used in the Brick House, currently closed pending restoration. Johnson often used the same materials on his projects (he designed the Four Seasons restaurant, and partnered with Mies van Der Rohe on the entire Seagram’s building), the Library/Study has carpeting originally used at the Four Seasons as well. The succulent garden, which can be viewed during our landscape tours, is built on a foundation of the same pink granite used for the AT&T, now Sony building.

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Amei Wallach, annual fund, Art Basel Miami, Art Salon Talk, Birch Cooper, Christa Carr, David Zwirner, Four Seasons Restaurant, gift, Glass House, Hunter Palmer, James Welling, Jordan Hruska, Liam Gillick, Philip Johnson, Rena Zurofsky, Robert A. M. Stern, The Library of Philip Johnson, Todd Eberle

Living in the Glass House

Dear Friends,

It has been an incredibly fast-paced year for the Philip Johnson Glass House. We celebrated our Fifth Season by developing new ways of welcoming the public to our site in person, online, through educational programs and events, and at art and design fairs around the world.

We’ve collaborated with significant architects (Charles Renfro, Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, Gregg Pasquarelli), artists (James Welling, Todd Eberle, David Salle) and writers (Paul Goldberger, Karen Stein, Philip Nobel), great chefs (Michele Richard, Brian Lewis, Bill Taibe, Lee Chizmar, Derek Wagner), as well as talented local high school students and their inspired teachers.

This year, more than ever, we need your support to help balance our budget. Our endowment covers only 40% of our operations, preservation and programs but we count on the generosity of our supporters to complete the picture.

Here’s why we hope you will  

New Tours

Focus: Concentrate on art, landscape and /or architecture -you decide!

Plein Air Afternoons: Unguided access for creative inspiration.

Pure Glass: Short, sweet and the lucid heart of the property

Cultural Experiences in Person
and Online

Private made Public: Salons hosted by cultural leaders are now available to all, either through an evening on site or connecting through an online film of each program.

Preservation and Conservation: The first site-specific work of Donald Judd, Untitled, 1971 was cleaned and conserved this season. Explore documentation of the it’s history, from archival images of the initial installation, to video of the conservation team at work and an online dialogue led by Flavin Judd.

Important Research: A seminal biography of David Whitney, Philip Johnson’s private but influential partner, is essential reading for understanding of the legacy of Johnson, Whitney and the Glass House.

Community

Generations Together: This fall marks our fourth year working with the New Canaan High School students and their teachers. This year’s projects included landscape photography and oral history films featuring local notable architects John Black Lee, John Johansen, and Fred Noyes speaking about his father, Eliot Noyes. These projects bring generations together to explore the essential history of New Canaan and Modernism. All of the student-produced oral histories and many of their photographs 
can now be enjoyed on our website.

47 Acres and 14 Structures

Storms: Besides the investments we choose to make, because we believe in them and their importance, there are the investments we need to make. Hurricane Irene, seasonal flooding and heavy unexpected snowstorms hammered the Glass House just as it did our neighbors. Repairs and canceled tours due to power outages and clean-ups resulted in significant lost revenues that severely affected our bottom line.

To maintain our role as an important community asset and site of international significance, we need your support. Please help us balance the Glass House budget with a generous year-end donation.

We welcome your support at every level.  

We hope to see you at the Glass House soon and often, on a tour through November, or early next season.

Sincerely,

Rena Zurofsky
Interim Executive Director

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As an additional thank you for your donation of $1,000 or more, we will send you a copy of the just published, limited edition Library of Philip Johnson. Written by Birch Cooper and Jordan Hruska, this beautifully illustrated book examines 100 titles from the architect’s Library/Study located at the Glass House site and features an introduction by Architect Robert A. M. Stern, textual analyses and 350 photographs.

Donors of $5,000 or more will also receive invitations to an exclusive event at The Glass House during the 2012 season.

Tours and Tickets available for the 2011 Glass House tour season (through November 30).

To learn more about the Philip Johnson Glass House visit philipjohnsonglasshouse.org

 

Filed under: From the Collection, Preservation in Action, In the News, About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Conversations in Context, Tours + Programs, Dine with Design, Message from the Director, Glass House Design Store, Glass House Films, Educational Partnership, James Welling, Glass House, Philip Johnson, David Whitney, Preservation, Paul Goldberger, Charles Renfro, Gregg Pasquarelli, Philip Nobel, Derek Wagner, Brian Lewis, Lee Chizmar, Bill Taibe, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Food, Film, New Canaan High School, Conservation, Donald Judd, Untitled, 1971, Todd Eberle, Support, Plein Air Afternoons, Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, Rena Zurofsky, David Salle, Karen Stein, The Library of Philip Johnson, Michele Richard, Chefs, Donate, Salons, biography of David Whitney, oral history

Message from the Director: Fall Foliage + New Tours at the Glass House

Sometimes, after a long drive on the Merritt Parkway (as beautiful as it is), I find myself cross and edgy from all the traffic.  I wonder why I do it.  But after only ten minutes walking on the Glass House grounds, I am once again calm and centered, glad to have arrived again at this beautiful location where the buzz of insects is more significant than any passing vehicles.  Lately, of course, the sounds of buzz saws have been prominent as New Canaan finishes the clean up after Hurricane Irene.  Although some neighbors were without power for up to a week due to the many downed trees and wires, our property regained power after four days.  We had a few trees damaged, but happily the Johnson/Whitney landscape plans and the constant vigilance of our groundskeeper ensured that no trees hit structures.  We were very lucky, but between damage and a week of cancelled tours, our annual breakeven budget took a hit of over $20,000 which we hope our generous admirers will help us regain.

September disappeared in a blur, although it was notable in the introduction of our new Pure Glass House tour, which is proving to be very popular.  Other highlights included a crush of Conversations in Context programs, including the always captivating Paul Goldberger, Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, and finally Gregg Paquarelli, Philip Nobel + Karen Stein.  Actually, they were all captivating!  Video from Paul Goldberger’s conversation has just been completed, with more coming soon.

October’s Conversations will be hosted by artist David Salle and architect Charles Renfro, beautifully reflecting the lives of David Whitney, curator and collector and Philip Johnson, architect and arbiter.  Another of our Plein Air Afternoons will be offered this month as well, intended for artists, photographers, writers or others who crave some extra unstructured time on the property.

For all you leaf peepers, there are still some weekday tour tickets available in October.   Personally I can hardly wait until the leaves begin to turn, changing this estate from a green oasis into a hot orange mecca—and by the way, changing Philip Johnson’s “expensive wallpaper” at the same time!

Rena Zurofsky

Interim Director, Philip Johnson Glass House

Filed under: Conversations in Context, Message from the Director, Conversaitons in Context, Fall, Foliage, Glass House, Message from the Director, Rena Zurofsky, Tours, Trees

Glass House Message From the Director, August 2011

At 7:30 pm in mid-August, the sun has long since raked the exquisite larch at the top of the hill on the south side of Popestead (The brown house near the road, which came with the land when Johnson purchased it.  The name refers to Johnson’s aunt, the architect Theodate Pope).  It will be two months before a similar angled light turns those soon drying needles into fireworks (the filament kind), but after a big storm there is that something in the air that signals autumn.   I’m thinking about it and so are the trees.  I’ve already seen some browning at the edges of the deciduous leaves, although the site’s many evergreens remain nonchalant.

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, In the News, Message from the Director

July / August Message From the Director, Wildlife at the Glass House + New Programs!

July 29, 2011

I fear I caused some serious upset on my early morning walk at the Glass House today.

First, the turkeys were quite put out, even though they were mostly on the shortcut and I was on the main path.  We had a bit of a stand-off as they considered my level of threat.  I finally got a low code, so they just lumbered off the gravel to the grass, even though I wasn’t going that way.

Filed under: Conversations in Context, In the News, Message from the Director, Tours + Programs, Conversations in Context, David Whitney, Glass House, Message from the Director, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Photography, Plein Air Afternoons

Message from the Director – June 2011

Lincoln Kirstein Tower. Photo: Carol Highsmith.

If I had awakened this morning about 6:30 in the Glass House (which I did not), and sat up on the right side of the bed, I’d have been able to watch two male turkeys squaring off in a display of their impressive brown tail feathers, fanning and folding as they stared at each other.  They stood, one on the mowed square of lawn by the pool and a stone wall, the other on a rise beyond another stone wall perpendicular to the first on a separate mowed patch (there is an un-mowed field between these walls).  It was a silent contest and just possibly could have been watched continuously after a shower and, from the far side of the house, during breakfast.

Filed under: Message from the Director, David Whitney, Garden, Glass House, Iris, Message from the Director, Peony