The exhibition documents the long-term collaboration of the internationally acclaimed photographer Gerald Zugmann with the renowned architects. It visualizes the biographical data of numerous models in different experimental stages as well as the architectural vita of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. The models rather constitute a manifestation of "materialized thinking" than approaches adapted to the reality of conventional, built architecture.

Self-described "post-industrial expressionists," COOP HIMMELB(L)AU often base their work on spontaneous and psychographic images and models, creating sharp, erratic, and soaring forms.

BLUE UNIVERSE presents their thinking and working process through photographs of 30 projects, as well as four original architectural models. The evolution of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU forms may be traced through images of models in different experimental stages, while the actual models serve to point up the artistry that Zugmann contributes to the image-making process.
 

With his precise and individual visual language Gerald Zugmann has established an entirely new generation of architectural photography. His photographs do not regard architecture in its functional capacity. Instead, he searches for the perspective that reveals the essence of a project. Using lighting and focusing on salient details, he "materializes" the idea of architecture in dramatic images that have been likened to still lives.

Exhibition  Gerald Zugmann, Peter Noever
Curator  Martina Kandeler-Fritsch

Publication Gerald Zugmann BLUE UNIVERSE Models Transforming into Pictures Architectural Projects by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU edited by Peter Noever, texts by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, Boris Groys, Gerald Zugmann German/English Ca. 160 pp., ca. 110 ill., ca. 70 plates in full colour, 25 x 28,2 cm, paperback MAK, Vienna and MAK Center, L.A.