The digital installation Pré, consisting of 365 drawings made by Steven Holl between 2002 and 2008, will be on view on MoMA’s third floor platform connecting The Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries from August 11, 2008, to February 2, 2009.
Pré gives a fascinating insight into the central element of Holl’s design process: drawing. Over the past 30 years Holl has juxtaposed form, color, shape, thought, space, and building in small sketchpads. From little details to abstract studies his collection of drawings cover his thought processes in their entirety.
The drawings juxtapose form, color, shape, thought, and space. Ranging from details of buildings, shells, and other forms to abstract studies, they outline an intellectual cosmos and make a subtle argument for a tranquillity of mind, a thought-free emptiness.
In Pré Holl suggests a space of total freedom. He prepares the ground, clears a place for a foundation—hints at built structures yet remains open to other choices. Pré makes new space for the emergence of an idea.