Adam McEwen: Chocked Rim, 2019 at the Glass House

NEW CANAAN, Conn (May 24, 2019) –The Glass House is pleased to present Adam McEwen as this year’s annual Summer Party artist for the June 8th, 2019, 70th anniversary celebration. McEwen’s artwork, Chocked Rim, 2019, will be displayed in the Glass House from June 1st through August 19th, 2019.

In 1951, two years after the completion of the Glass House, Philip Johnson curated an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art entitled 8 Automobiles, celebrating cars as artworks. McEwen’s Chocked Rim is a machined graphite version of a standard car wheel: an object formed by function, utility, and necessity. Here the rim invokes the aesthetics of engineering, appearing as pure structure, a fetish of modernist architecture.

McEwen has also created a related work, Hubcap, a graphite rendering of a late 1950s Mercedes Gullwing coupe hubcap a car Philip Johnson drove. “The Mercedes hubcap- a kind of mask-is a stand in for an icon of mechanized power,” says McEwen. “The Glass House itself plays with ideas of power and display: an apparent vulnerability and delicacy mask a disarming exhibitionism.”

“For more than a decade I’ve admired Adam McEwen’s works. His architecture and design inspirations are the perfect fit for our campus. We are honored to present his thought-provoking work inside the Glass House as part of our 70th anniversary celebrations,” says Scott Drevnig, Deputy Director at the Glass House.

Hubcap will be sold exclusively at the Glass House to benefit preservation at the site. Summer Party ticket purchasers at the VIP Friend level and Platinum Table level will receive a single edition of Hubcap, as part of their donation. To reserve one from this edition please contact Isabel Richards at irichards@theglasshouse.org or 203.978.3011.

About Adam McEwen: Born in London in 1965, Adam McEwen lives and works in New York. McEwen’s work can be seen in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Rubell Family Collection, Miami; De la Cruz Collection, Miami; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf; Marciano Collection, Los Angeles; Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Scotland; and Arts Council Collection, London. Recent institutional exhibitions have been held at the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2017); Winter Palace and 21er Haus, Vienna (2016); Museo Civico-Diocesano di Santa Maria dei Servi, Città della Pieve, Italy (2015); MOMA PS1, New York (2015); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2015); Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel (2013); Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands (2013); Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas (2012); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2008), amongst others.

About Glass House Editions: The Glass House Editions Program is a curated selection of exclusive artworks from leading contemporary artists inspired by the art and architecture of the Philip Johnson Glass House. All proceeds support preservation initiatives, exhibitions, and programs.

About the Glass House Summer Party: The Glass House Summer Party is an annual celebration, auction and fundraiser for the Glass House site. All proceeds go towards preservation of the 49-acre site. The 2019 Summer Party is generously supported by Chelsfield, Hunter Douglas, and SRI Fine Art Services. Media sponsorship is provided by Cultured and Serendipity. Special thanks to 2×4, Aesop, Design Within Reach, Diageo, Earth Garden, Green & Tonic, LAFCO New York, Leuchtturm1917, LOQI, Madewell, The Monacelli Press, NEAT Coffee, Rockwell Art & Framing, South End, Sugarfina, Tossware, VOSS, Want Les Essentiels, and Whispering Angel.

Organized by Scott Drevnig

About the Glass House: The Glass House, built between 1949 and 1995 by architect Philip Johnson, is a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation located in New Canaan, CT. The pastoral 49-acre landscape comprises fourteen structures, including the Glass House (1949), and features a permanent collection of 20th-century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The campus serves as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art; and a canvas for inspiration and experimentation. The tour season runs from May through November and advanced reservations are required. Private tours are available throughout the year.