Soane and Modernism: Make It New exhibition

The exhibition Soane and Modernism: Make It New, curated by Dr. Erin McKellar, was on display at London’s Sir John Soane’s Museum from February 12th until May 18th, 2025. The show explores Soane as a precursor to the architectural modernist movement by juxtaposing his work with drawings (on loan from Drawing Matter Trust) from celebrated modernists such as Le Corbusier, Jørn Utzon, Ove Arup and Aldo Rossi, to name a few. Drawing Matter also digitally published a series of texts, that describe all of the modernist drawings on loan to the exhibition.

The exhibition design was created by Studio Bergini and typeset in HAL Matex by HAL Typefaces and OT Capitalis Monoline by Omnitype. The exhibition shots are by Gareth Gardner.

Here is a blurb on the show from the museum’s website:

Sir John Soane has often been referred to as the first modernist architect due to his emphasis on light, open space, abstract forms and restrained use of ornament.

Soane and Modernism: Make It New is the first exhibition to investigate Soane as a forerunner of architectural modernism. The exhibition brings together drawings from Soane’s collection, some on display for the first time, in dialogue with works by celebrated modernists including Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Adolf Loos and Ernö Goldfinger.

It also investigates two case studies which share affinities with Soane’s work: Álvaro Siza’s Bouça Social Housing in Porto, Portugal, and Tony Fretton’s Lisson Gallery in London. All modernist drawings have been borrowed from Drawing Matter’s important and extensive holdings, selected in collaboration with the team at Drawing Matter Trust.