February 12–April 28, 2010

For the fiftieth anniversary of the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum building, the Guggenheim invited some two hundred artists, architects, and designers to imagine their dream interventions in its central rotunda. The exhibition Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum, organized by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, and David van der Leer, Assistant Curator for Architecture and Design, features renderings of visionary projects from a wide range of international artists, artists, and designers both emerging and established, with mediums varying from pencil sketches to digital video.

Among the artists participating in the exhibition are Alice Aycock, FAKE DESIGN (Ai Weiwei), Anish Kapoor, Sarah Morris, Wangechi Mutu, Paul Pfeiffer, Doris Salcedo, Lawrence Weiner, and Rachel Whiteread; designers such as Fernando and Humberto Campana, Martí Guixé, and Joris Laarman Studio; and architects such as Álvaro Siza Vieira Arquitecto, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Greg Lynn FORM, MVRDV, N55, Snøhetta, Studio Daniel Libeskind, Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects, and West 8.

Contemplating the Void is accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition Web site, which documents each submission and features essays by Spector and Van der Leer.

Left: Alyson Shotz, Untitled, 2009 (detail). Laserjet print, 48.3 x 33 cm. Right: MAD Architects (Yansong Ma), State Fair Guggenheim, 2009 (detail). Digital print, 94.5 x 68.6 cm.

Contemplating the Void functions as an anniversary fundraiser for the museum—over 90% of the artists have donated their works to this cause. Proceeds from the sale will support the museum's exhibition programming.

For more information about the auction, contact Ben Whine, Associate Director of Individual Development, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, at bwhine@guggenheim.org.