About
On April 23, 2006, the doors to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art opened to the public for the first time. Designed by world-renowned architect César Pelli, the building features a striking glass and steel curtain wall and stairwell known as the Icon. From the outside, its sharp peak rises boldly, reflecting the sky and cityscape. As it descends, the form softens and opens at street level, where expansive glass blurs the line between exterior and interior—connecting the city with the museum.
Over the past twenty years, MMoCA has continued to connect Madison’s communities with the world of contemporary art. This exhibition showcases the vision behind the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and celebrates the foresight of Jerome W. Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland, whose collaboration with Pelli gave Madison a striking architectural monument that honors the power of art.
César Pelli would tell his students at Yale, “The city is more important than the building.”
About César Pelli
César Pelli (1926–2019) was a world-renowned architect celebrated for his innovative and elegant designs that have shaped city skylines across the globe. Born in Argentina, Pelli emigrated to the United States in 1952 and received his master’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1954. After graduating, he worked with architect Eero Saarinen in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and later moved to Los Angeles, where he designed his first landmark building, the Pacific Design Center. In 1977, Pelli moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he established his own firm, Cesar Pelli & Associates, and served as dean of the Yale School of Architecture until 1984. Among his most iconic projects are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the World Financial Center in New York, the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in London. Pelli was a recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal, the highest honor the Washington, D.C.-based institute bestows on an individual architect.
Programming & Events
Opening Celebration
Friday, December 12 • 5–9 PM
Support
Exhibitions in the Henry Street Gallery are generously funded through an endowment established by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.