I. M. Pei:
Life Is Architecture
I. M. Pei:
Life Is Architecture
5 Jan 2025
The first full-scale retrospective of Ieoh Ming Pei (1917–2019), I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture properly appraises for the first time the work of one of the greatest architects of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Pei’s high-profile projects were realised over seven decades with an exceptionally wide geographic reach, including the National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C., modernisation of the Grand Louvre in Paris, Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. These iconic landmarks solidified Pei’s position in architectural history and popular culture. His life and work weave together a tapestry of power dynamics, geopolitical complexities, cultural traditions, and the character of cities around the world, and his transcultural vision laid a foundation for the contemporary world.
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Winnie Yeung @ Visual Voices
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Lok Cheng © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Lok Cheng © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Dan Leung © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Lok Cheng © M+, Hong Kong
Installation view of I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, 2024. Photo: Lok Cheng © M+, Hong Kong
The exhibition takes an expanded and closer look at Pei’s practice through six themes representing areas of focus and approaches throughout his career: ‘Pei’s Cross-Cultural Foundations’, ‘Real Estate and Urban Redevelopment’, ‘Art and Civic Form’, ‘Power, Politics, and Patronage’, ‘Material and Structural Innovation’, and ‘Reinterpreting History through Design’. The themes place Pei’s practice in close dialogue with social, cultural, and biographical trajectories that show architecture and life to be inseparable. The exhibition features a rich selection of drawings, sketches, videos, models, photographs, and other archival documentation, many of which will be on view for the first time. To lend a contemporary lens to Pei’s work, the exhibition presents newly commissioned photographs of Pei’s buildings by a new generation of photographers: South Ho, Naho Kubota, Lee Kuo-min, Giovanna Silva, Mohamed Somji, Tian Fangfang, and Yoneda Tomoko. Architectural models of Pei’s built and unbuilt projects are also made in collaboration with architecture schools at The University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Portrait of I. M. Pei, 1976, Irving Penn, Vogue. © Condé Nast
Giovanna Silva. A bride’s photoshoot captured from Passage Richelieu at the Grand Louvre in Paris, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Giovanna Silva
Mohamed Somji. View of the faceted central structure of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, 2022. Photo commissioned by M+, 2022. © Mohamed Somji
I. M. Pei explaining his proposal for Oklahoma City’s new downtown to one of the ‘city fathers’, ca.1964. © The Oklahoman – USA TODAY NETWORK
Model of Fragrant Hill Hotel (1979–1982), Beijing, ca.1979. Paper and acrylic. Gift of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Acquisition in progress. Photo: M+, Hong Kong, photographed with permission. © Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Helmut Jacoby (illustrator), I. M. Pei & Associates. Rendering of museum and public plaza, Everson Museum of Art (1961–1968), Syracuse, New York, ca.1961. Ink on paper. Photo: M+, Hong Kong, photographed with permission. © Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Portrait of I. M. Pei, 1976, Irving Penn, Vogue. © Condé Nast
Giovanna Silva. A bride’s photoshoot captured from Passage Richelieu at the Grand Louvre in Paris, 2021. Commissioned by M+, 2021. © Giovanna Silva
Mohamed Somji. View of the faceted central structure of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, 2022. Photo commissioned by M+, 2022. © Mohamed Somji
I. M. Pei explaining his proposal for Oklahoma City’s new downtown to one of the ‘city fathers’, ca.1964. © The Oklahoman – USA TODAY NETWORK
Model of Fragrant Hill Hotel (1979–1982), Beijing, ca.1979. Paper and acrylic. Gift of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Acquisition in progress. Photo: M+, Hong Kong, photographed with permission. © Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Helmut Jacoby (illustrator), I. M. Pei & Associates. Rendering of museum and public plaza, Everson Museum of Art (1961–1968), Syracuse, New York, ca.1961. Ink on paper. Photo: M+, Hong Kong, photographed with permission. © Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Further Reading
Exhibition Monograph
Going beyond the usual building-by-building format of most architectural monographs, I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture is organised thematically, exploring Pei’s life and work through six topics that were central to his unique approach to architecture: transcultural identity, urban redevelopment, art and civic form, material and structural innovation, politics and patronage, and regenerating cultural and historical archetypes.
Bringing together previously unpublished archival materials, specially commissioned essays, new photography, and personal contributions from those who knew and worked with Pei, this book presents both celebrated and lesser-known aspects of the architect’s life and career while solidifying his position in architectural history and popular culture.
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Robocop
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I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture is curated by Shirley Surya, Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, and Aric Chen, Director, Zaha Hadid Foundation, London.
Image at top: Architect Ieoh Ming Pei, selected to design the JFK Memorial Library. © John Loengard / The LIFE Picture Collection / Shutterstock
M+ has made all attempts to locate the copyright owners of the images and videos in this exhibition. These materials have been used for non-commercial purposes related to the exhibition only.