MoMA Acquires Work of UNM Chair of Architecture Chris Cornelius
November 19, 2024
The Museum of Modern Art recently acquired the work of Chris Cornelius, University of New Mexico Professor of Architecture. This acquisition into the Architecture and Design permanent collection is internationally recognized as highly prestigious.
MoMA’s acquisition includes three drawings from his Radio Free Alcatraz project (2014) and one model (2009) titled “Bear,” from a series of models called “Bending Out of Course.” You can view the collected work here. This work is featured in the exhibition Down to Earth opening on November 22, 2024. It will demonstrate “how the design of the built environment can help foster resilient communities, mitigate the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, and re-establish connections between human and nonhuman life.”
Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, Robert González stated of this recognition, “As the first Indigenous person trained as an architect to be in the Architecture and Design collection, Chris Cornelius is a central voice of a new generation of designers in the built environment disciplines who are helping us to reframe our relationship with the land through an Indigenous lens. We’re fortunate to have Cornelius at the helm of our Architecture program in a region poised to lead in this timely reframing.”
