Sir John Soane has often been referred to as the first modernist architect due to his emphasis on light, open space, abstract forms and restrained use of ornament.
This exhibition will be the first to investigate this by placing drawings from Soane’s collection, some on display for the first time ever, in dialogue with work by modernist architects such as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernő Goldfinger. Soane and Modernism will bring together a Giles Gilbert Scott drawing of the red telephone box and a Soane drawing of the Soane Family tomb, the inspiration behind the telephone box.
It will also investigate two case studies which share affinities with Soane’s work: Álvaro Siza’s Bouça Social Housing in Porto, Portugal, and Tony Fretton’s Lisson Gallery in London. All modernist drawings will be borrowed from Drawing Matter’s important and extensive holdings, selected in collaboration with the team at Drawing Matter Trust.