Collaging Mies

The artwork, Collages for the Esplanade Apartments, was inspired by the collages that Mies created after he immigrated to the United States in 1938. One such project is the unbuilt Resor House, for which Mies created large collaged perspectives with slender columns and large openings framing photo-views of the beautiful mountain landscape around Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Evron, with the permission of the residents at 900 North Lake Shore Drive, is basically inverting Mies's collages by applying an image of rock formations from his homeland to the glass curtain walls at floors 3 to 5 on the building's east, lake-facing side. According to the Elmhurst Art Museum, which is organizing the installation with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the image depicts "a location where pre-human cave-dwellings have been discovered" and therefore "creates a dialogue about the origins of architecture, natural resources and global citizenship."

Evron's Collages for the Esplanade Apartments will be on display at 900 North Lake Shore Drive from September 19 until October 3, 2019. Nearby, the MCA Chicago is hosting the first solo US museum exhibition of work by Evron. Chicago Works: Assaf Evron is on display until January 6, 2020.