I. M. Pei:
Life is Architecture
I. M. Pei:
Life is Architecture
29 Jun 2024
Ticket Information
Standard: HKD 160
Concessions*: HKD 80
M+ Members: HKD 112
M+ Patrons' Guests: HKD 80
Priority booking for M+ Members & Patrons from 26 Apr to 2 May. Tickets open to public starting 3 May, 10:00.
The first major 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.
The exhibition takes an expanded and closer look at Pei’s practice through six themes representing areas of focus and approaches throughout his career: ‘Transcultural Foundations’, ‘Real Estate and Urban Redevelopment’, ‘Art and Civic Form’, ‘Material and Structural Innovation’, ‘Power, Politics, and Patronage’, and ‘Regenerating Cultural and Historical Archetypes’. 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.
Irving Penn. I. M. Pei, 1976. 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. Rendering of the 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.
Irving Penn. I. M. Pei, 1976. 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. Rendering of the 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.
Tickets
Tickets to I. M. Pei: Life is Architecture include General Admission access. Children ages 6 and below do not need to purchase tickets.
Public
Standard: HKD 160
Concessions*: HKD 80
Tickets will be available for online purchase from 3 May 2024.
M+ Members
M+ Members enjoy three free admission vouchers for selected Special Exhibitions per membership year. M+ Members can also enjoy a 30% discount on additional tickets with unlimited quota. Discounted ticket holders must be accompanied by members.
Discounted tickets: HKD 112
Become an M+ Member, and enjoy exclusive benefits!
M+ Patrons
Patrons of all tiers can enjoy unlimited free access to Special Exhibitions with a designated number of guest(s); and a 50% discount on additional guest tickets (unlimited quota). Discounted ticket holders must be accompanied by patrons.
Discounted guest tickets: HKD 80
Become an M+ Patron, and enjoy unlimited free admission all year-round with exclusive benefits!
*Concession tickets are available to full-time students, children ages 7 to 11, senior citizens ages 60 or above, persons with disabilities and companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients.
Image at top: Architect Ieoh Ming Pei, selected to design the JFK Memorial Library. © John Loengard / The LIFE Picture Collection / Shutterstock