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Asheville Art Museum

Asheville Art Museum

North Carolina museum exhibiting 20th century American art

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Home > Exhibitions > Altruistic Genius
R. Buckminster Fuller, Building Construction/Geodesic Dome from the Inventions: Twelve Around One portfolio, 1981, screenprint in white ink on clear polyester film overlaid on a screenprint on Lennox paper, 25 × 35 1/2 inches. Asheville Art Museum, Black Mountain College Collection, Museum purchase with funds provided by 2006 Collectors' Circle members Rob Pulleyn and Cherry & Paul Lentz Saenger, 2006.31.64.

Altruistic Genius

Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet

Dates:
April 14 – August 21, 2023
Location:
Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall, Level 1

Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet brings the inventions and designs of R. Buckminster Fuller (Milton, MA 1895-1983, Los Angeles, CA) to Western North Carolina and introduces visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to housing, transportation, mathematics, and engineering.  

This exhibition features two major suites of prints by Buckminster Fuller among other remarkable works from his multi-decade career and is presented in three sections: Inventions; Synergetics; and Black Mountain College and Lasting Influence. The Inventions portfolio, assembled in 1981 from Fuller’s career of explorations along with several existent models, represents Fuller’s foresight. In the late 1970s, Fuller published a series of mathematical systems and philosophies to be used in solving problems in all areas of human existence in his Synergetics portfolio. Significant to Asheville, Fuller taught at Black Mountain College during the summers of 1948 and 1949. It was there that he importantly constructed his first geodesic dome as he experimented to develop more affordable housing. Over 30 major artworks by Buckminster Fuller join select examples by artists and designers directly impacted by Fuller’s innovations in art and design, including Jade Doskow, Kenneth Snelson, and Kirsten Stolle, among others.  

UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio brings to life the designs of Fuller’s Fly’s Eye dome and Geodesic dome with student-produced models on view in the exhibition, two designs which are feats of design that transformed the history of modern architecture. Welcoming visitors to the Museum, a replica of Fuller’s Dymaxion Car, on loan from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN, will be on view in the Museum’s Atrium for the duration of the exhibition.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Maurer Family Foundation. 

Related Programs & Events

Thursday, Apr 13, 2023

Altruistic Genius: Upper-Level Member-Only Preview

 4–5 pm: Upper-Level Members (Free for current Patron, Benefactor, Director’s Forum, Masterpiece Society and Collectors’ Circle Members). 5–7pm: All Members All Museum Members are invited

Thursday, Apr 13, 2023

Altruistic Genius: Member-Only Preview

 4–5 pm: Upper-Level Members (Free for current Patron, Benefactor, Director’s Forum, Masterpiece Society and Collectors’ Circle Members). 5–7pm: All Members All Museum Members are invited

Thursday, Apr 20, 2023

Public Tour: Altruistic Genius

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Museum Hours:

Open daily 11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays. Pre-purchased online tickets are encouraged; walk-in tickets are also available.
m

Museum Location:

2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
P

Museum Contact

828.253.3227
mailbox@ashevilleart.org
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