Ruby City San Antonio Contemporary Art Center, Modern TX Architecture design, New Texas Building Images
Ruby City Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio
New Arts Building in Texas, United States of America design by Adjaye Associates Architects.
Apr 22 + 5, 2019
Design: Adjaye Associates, Architects, London, with Alamo Architects, USA
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Images © Dror Baldinger, courtesy of Ruby City and Adjaye Associates.
Ruby City, A New Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio
San Antonio, TX (April 22, 2019) – Ruby City is pleased to announce its inaugural exhibition, presented in three parts, entitled Waking Dream, Isaac Julien: Playtime and Jewels in the Concrete, opening October 13, 2019.
The exhibition is curated by Kathryn Kanjo, Linda Pace Foundation Trustee and the David C. Copley Director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), and features 50 paintings, sculptures, installations, works on paper and videos from the Linda Pace Foundation permanent collection.
Designed by Sir David Adjaye OBE, Ruby City is the architect’s first building in Texas and is the only organization in San Antonio solely dedicated to the acquisition and presentation of contemporary art.
Ruby City, A New Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio, designed by Sir David Adjaye OBE, is set to open in October 2019
San Antonio, TX, USA (April 2019) – Ruby City, a new contemporary art center in San Antonio, TX will open to the public in October 2019, 12 years after the vision for the building was first imagined by the late Linda Pace.
Ruby City photos © Dror Baldinger. Courtesy of Ruby City and Adjaye Associates.
Home to the growing Linda Pace Foundation permanent collection, the building is designed by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Alamo Architects, and is dedicated to providing a space for the city’s thriving creative community to experience works by both local and internationally-acclaimed artists.
The design for the 14,000 square-foot building is inspired, in part, by the Spanish Missions found throughout the Southwest, constructed by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries. The exterior skin consists of a precast concrete fabricated in Mexico City, which has been imbued with a rich red giving the building its ruby glow.
For the first ten feet up, the concrete is a polished finish, ground smoothly to be touched by passersby; above, the concrete wall is rough, sharp, and encrusted with varying shades of red glass. Two crowning lanterns adorn the top of the structure, creating an animated roofline that in turn draws natural light into the gallery spaces. The interior entrance and lobby have also been constructed in the same crimson hue, preserve Pace’s original vision of a “ruby city.”
“My goal was to translate Linda’s idea into a building that will do justice to her legacy. It is a tremendous responsibility and one that is dear to my heart,” Sir David Adjaye OBE said. “Linda had a clear vision for how the institution should be an inspirational space for the community and interact with its surroundings, drawing visitors into the jewel-like structure while connecting to the San Antonio landscape. The building creates a narrative journey through the space that allows the collection to be accessed in an organic and meaningful way.”
Ruby City Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio building interior:
Throughout the building, texture and character take on an incredibly important role in defining the essence of the space. Conceived as an ambulatory loop, the building will house major works by world-renowned artists including Isaac Julien, Jennifer Steinkamp, Kiki Smith, Do Ho Suh and Wangechi Mutu, among many others. The extensive gallery space, spanning over 10,000 square-feet, introduces visitors to a selection of the over 900 artworks maintained by the Linda Pace Foundation.
David Adjaye – Ruby City San Antonio building architect:
photo © Josh Huskin. Courtesy of Ruby City and Adjaye Associates
Adjacent to the museum, the accompanying sculpture garden is defined by an oval pathway, of exposed concrete aggregate, that circles a wide lawn area that is annexed to its west by a field of red cast-in-place concrete with a rock salt finish. The sculpture garden, adorned with a work by Nancy Rubins, uses sourced materials and stands as its own entity celebrating the ubiquity of public sculpture.
“It is truly an incredible feat to see Linda’s dream come fully into fruition,” says Trustee Kathryn Kanjo, “Ruby City will not only provide the San Antonio community with a vigorous arts program, deepening the appreciation and accessibility to contemporary culture, but also will house the incredibly significant collection of work that Linda worked her entire life to build.”
The new building is part of a growing campus, which also includes Chris Park, a one-acre public green space named in memoriam to Pace’s son, as well as Studio, an auxiliary exhibition space which presents curated shows and programming throughout the year. Ruby City is free and open to the public year round.
Ruby City
Ruby City is a 14,472 sq ft contemporary art center in San Antonio, TX, dedicated to providing a space for the city’s thriving creative community to experience works by both local and internationally-acclaimed artists. Envisioned in 2007 by the late collector, philanthropist and artist Linda Pace, Ruby City presents works from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection of more than 900 paintings, sculptures, installations and video works.
The new building, designed by renowned architect Sir David Adjaye OBE is part of a growing campus, which also includes Chris Park, a one-acre public green space named in memory of Pace’s son, and Studio, an auxiliary exhibition space which presents curated shows and programming throughout the year. Ruby City is free and open to the public.
For more information visit www.rubycity.org
Linda Pace Foundation
Linda Pace Foundation was founded in 2003 as the owner and steward of Pace’s collection. Guided by its donor’s conviction that contemporary art is essential to a dynamic society, Linda Pace Foundation fosters the creation, presentation and understanding of innovative expression through contemporary art.
In addition to its exhibition spaces Ruby City and Studio, Linda Pace Foundation shares its collection through loans to museums and institutions around the world. The Foundation also actively acquires new works each year, which, echoing the themes and character of Pace’s own collecting, reflect a feminist perspective, engage social issues and consider aspects of spirituality and beauty.
Ruby City San Antonio building interior:
Ruby City © Dror Baldinger. Courtesy of Ruby City and Adjaye Associates.
Ruby City Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio images / information received 040419 from Adjaye Associates Architects, London, UK
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
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