Exeter, NH (October 3, 2007)—From Saturday, October 13 to Saturday, December 1, the Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy will present RedHOUSE: Architecture for Art. This exhibition brings together the complementary interests, talents and unique visions of two dedicated collectors and one architect. This collaboration between Frederick and Jan Mayer, and Jim Olson, FAIA, of the Seattle firm, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, resulted in the start of a downtown renaissance in Denver, Colorado, and introduced a dramatic home designed to house art. The opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Friday, October 19, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The Lamont Gallery is located in the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center on Tan Lane. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

In the exhibition, selections from the Mayers’ collections will be on display, including art from a variety of cultures, as well as two and three-dimensional art works by artists such as George Inness, Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, John Singer Sargent, Gaston Lachaise and others. Jim Olson’s architectural sketches, plans and models, as well of photographs of RedHOUSE, will also introduce gallery visitors to the creation of this important building.  “In RedHOUSE: Architecture for Art, gallery visitors will easily see the link between form and function,” says Karen Burgess Smith, Director of the Lamont Gallery. “This exhibition examines the process of designing a home to support and present an art collection that spans from antiquity to the twentieth century.”

The RedHOUSE was completed in 1998, almost two years after ground was broken on a former parking lot in urban Denver. After years of interviewing architects, Frederick and Jan Mayer selected Jim Olson to design what would be the first single-family residence in downtown Denver in over 100 years. This new home was to respect the traditional late 19th century brick and stone facades of the area, and Olson referenced the weathered redstone and limestone textures of the West, but by using contemporary materials, such as pre-cast concrete and steel.

The resulting house plan brings to mind the Italian palazzo, the Mexican courtyard and the French city house, with a center courtyard that functions as both an oasis in the midst of the city, and as a garden for large-scale, contemporary sculpture. The monumental entry hall holds large and small-scale works from a variety of cultures, and the soaring ceilings and high walls in the main floor rooms and hallway set a dramatic stage for Spanish Colonial paintings to 20th century sculptures. The Mayers’ private residence on the second floor reflects an intimate color and scale. Low-lit stairways that lead to the second and third floors provide the perfect location to display prints by noted artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, one of Mr. Mayer’s favorite artists. The top floor works-on-paper hallway leads to the sanctuary that crowns the building and offers striking views of the Rocky Mountains by day, and the glowing lights of the city skyline by night.

Frederick Mayer, a Texas native who graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1945, founded his own oil drilling company in 1953, and Captiva Corporation in 1982, and had begun collecting stamps at the age of six.  His favorite stamps were from Costa Rica, and this interest led to the development of an extensive collection of pre-Columbian art. Jan Mayer’s interest in art began with watercolor painting and other works on paper. But, she identifies the purchase of a work by American landscape painter George Inness as an important step in her personal development as a collector.

RedHOUSE: Architecture for Art celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center and Lamont Gallery. A combination of new construction and the renovation of existing gallery space, the Mayer Arts Center has transformed the visual arts at Exeter. The Mayers have been supporters of arts institutions, including the Denver Art Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery. Frederick Mayer passed away in February of this year at age 79. His wife Jan continues their support of the arts.

Architect Jim Olson is inspired by the relationship of architecture and art. In residential projects for major art collectors across the country, Olson has explored most profoundly the aesthetic interplay of art and architecture—and the relationship of light, space and mood. His work consistently demonstrates that art is not an afterthought to architecture but an integral part of it, as he creates homes that offer an appropriate environment for living with art and a sensitivity to the varying space and light requirements of differing art genres. His commitment to the integration of these fields carries through other project types, as Olson at times takes a curatorial role in selecting or commissioning art for institutional as well as residential clients.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Department of Architecture, Olson established his own firm in Seattle in 1966. Since that time the office has grown into a diverse practice with an international reputation, becoming Olson/Walker Architects in 1971, Olson Sundberg Architects in 1985, and Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen in 2000. Olson is the recipient of the 2007 Seattle AIA Medal of Honor. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architecture and has served on the boards of a number of Northwest arts organizations and other community institutions. He is a current board member for the Seattle Art Museum. Olson has lectured extensively throughout the United States and in Canada and Mexico on the relationship of art and architecture.

Gallery hours are Monday 1–5 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., closed on Sunday. The Gallery will be closed the week of November 19. For further information, contact the Lamont Gallery at (603) 777-3461 or visit our Gallery webpage at www.exeter.edu/arts/8160.aspx.  For directions to Phillips Exeter Academy, call (603) 777-4330. A complete list of upcoming events is available on the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at (603) 777-4309 and on our website at www.exeter.edu.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, students come from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds. The diverse student body comes from approximately 45 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and 23 foreign countries.