Roger Brown & Miesian Metropolitanism: Edith Farnsworth House, Plano, IL

Roger Brown and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe stand as exemplars of their respective aesthetic positions—beacons of pure intention and masterful execution. This exhibition seeks to examine Brown’s particular “Miesian” tendencies, both within his aesthetic practice and his personal life. While many of his paintings ruminated on buildings, the topic of architecture was also intimately important to him and his life partner, George Veronda, himself an accomplished architect and designer. Hosted by the Edith Farnsworth House, this affectionate and insightful exhibition provides new perspectives into the philosophical crosscurrents that informed the careers of both Brown and van der Rohe, and shines a fresh spotlight on the practices of two of the 20th century’s most distinctive creative minds.

This exhibition, organized with Kavi Gupta gallery and the Roger Brown Study Collection, which Brown gifted to the Art Institute of Chicago, is comprised of a cross-section of Brown’s iconic but wide-ranging practice. Reproductions of classic paintings like What’s Good Enough for Mies is Good Enough for Me directly address Mies van der Rohe as a specific creative force in Brown’s life, while Expressionist Building—Are We Happy Now? lends insight into Brown’s broader perspectives on art and architecture. Original works in the exhibition will include the rarely seen, important 1982 painting My House in the Dunes, depicting Brown’s elegant modernist home in New Buffalo, Michigan.

The exhibition is set to open August 6, and a panel discussion pertaining to Brown and Mies van der Rohe will be held August 11 both in-person and online.



Courtesy of the Edith Farnsworth House