The exhibition addresses a central and timely aspect of the work of Carlo Scarpa: its distinctive approach to contending with the layers of history that mark the fabric of a city and a building.

In addressing Scarpa’s ability to weave new work into, and often out of, the disparate fragments of the old, Carlo Scarpa, Architect: Intervening with History begins to unravel the complex and sometimes enigmatic symbolic programs that mark Scarpa’s work, and reveals how he uses the irrational—anxiety and uncertainty—to open up architecture’s expressive possibilities. The exhibition documents in great depth two crowning works of Scarpa’s career: the restoration and reorganization of the 14th-century Castelvecchio in Verona (1956-73) as a municipal art museum, and his construction of a private tomb—“a city of the dead”—for the Brion family near Treviso (1969–78).

The exhibition is based on access to the Scarpa family archive and to the repositories of Scarpa’s work at museums in Verona, Venice, and Palermo. It features 150 of Scarpa’s drawings, which serve as a window onto his mental process and demonstrate his design virtuosity. Added to these are new photographs commissioned by the CCA from the Italian photographer Guido Guidi, which reveal how Scarpa’s projects unfold in time, light, and space.

Curator: Mildred Friedman, New York.
Exhibition design: George Ranalli, Yale University.
Organizer: Centro Internazionale di Studi Architettura Andrea Palladio, Vicenza.