After a successful run at Venice’s San Marco Art Centre (SMAC) last year, Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry Seidler will open at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum on 18 July.
Curated by Chau Chak Wing Museum’s senior curator Ann Stephen and Paolo Stracchi from the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the exhibition traces the life and work of modernist architect Harry Seidler (1923–2006), showcasing his major projects and collaborations with internationally renowned architects, designers and engineers including Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, Lin Utzon and Oscar Niemeyer.
After fleeing Nazi-ruled Austria as a teenager, Seidler was interned in England as an enemy alien before being deported to Canada, where he completed his architecture degree. He later studied and worked under Walter Gropius, Josef Albers and Breuer in the United States.
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In 1948, Seidler arrived in Australia at the invitation of his parents, who asked him to design their new home in Sydney’s Turramurra (now Wahroonga). The Rose Seidler House (1950) was lauded by the public, won the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects’ Sir John Sulman Medal in 1951, and was described in a 1952 edition of the Sunday Herald as “the most talked-about house in Sydney.” Seidler chose to remain in Australia, going on to create some of Sydney’s most recognisable built works, including the Australia Square buildings (1967), the MLC Centre (1978) and Grosvenor Place (1988). He also designed several highly acclaimed international buildings, including the Australian Embassy in Paris (1977).
Seidler is widely credited with introducing Bauhaus modernism to Australia. His contributions to architecture were awarded with some of profession’s highest honours, including the RAIA Gold Medal in 1976 and the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal in 1996.
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Director of the Chau Chak Wing Museum Michael Dagostino said the exhibition brings to the museum an “extraordinary personal story and a global narrative highlighting Harry Seidler’s lasting contribution in Australia, and beyond.”
“This is a very Sydney story, reflecting how migration enriches our city through the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experience.”
The Chau Chak Wing Museum will host Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry Seidler until the end of January 2027. To find out more details, visit the Chau Chak Wing Museum website.
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