(Above) A gallery (photographed on Monday) of images related to Marina City at Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention, an exhibition that opened at The Art Institute of Chicago last week. (Click on image to view larger version.)

September 20, 2011 – The life’s works of Bertrand Goldberg, along with the homes of Marina City residents, were officially declared art last week.

The Art Institute of Chicago unveiled its long-awaited exhibition, what it calls “the first comprehensive retrospective of the architect’s work,” with a reception and preview last Wednesday that attracted hundreds of people to the institute’s new Modern Wing. Three galleries are filled with more than 100 drawings, models, photographs, and other artifacts from Goldberg’s career that spanned more than 60 years.

The exhibit also includes the 19-minute film made in 1965 by Portland Cement Association, which extensively documented the construction of Marina City. PCA loaned the film to Marina City Online last year and in November 2010, it was re-digitized by Peter Bernotas and International Historic Films, Inc.

Next door to the Goldberg exhibition, a collection of photographs of Marina City residents offers glimpses of what it is like to live at Goldberg’s arguably most famous work. Photographer Andreas Larsson and Iker Gil, an architect who lives at Marina City, have been working on Inside Marina City since 2009.

“It is great to finally show a portion of the work that we have been doing for so long,” says Gil. “To be honest, I have no idea about how many people saw the exhibit. We have heard that there were 900 RSVPs for the event.”

(Above) From a balcony on the 35th floor of the west tower, a Marina City resident gazes at the city in October 2009. (Below) A closer view of the Goldberg exhibit. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

Meanwhile, another exhibition that opened last Friday at a gallery in River North will share the architect’s personal collection of art and artifacts. Bertrand Goldberg: Reflections runs through January 13 at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 East Ontario Street. Admission is free.

The exhibit was designed and installed by Chicago architects John Vinci and Geoffrey Goldberg, Bertrand’s son, who teaches architecture at the University of Illinois and has received awards for design and planning. According to Geoffrey, the Art Club show will include many items not seen at the Art Institute, such as fabrications designed and constructed by his father, patents, large photographs, a photograph of a car Goldberg designed, “an experimental light sculpture machine from the 1930s,” and original pencil drawings of Marina City.

Websites:

• The Art Institute of Chicago
• Inside Marina City
• Watch This Is Marina City (part 1)
• Watch This Is Marina City (part 2)
• Learn more about the film