Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist

Unknown photographer, Albert Frey in front of his Ford Thunderbird at Frey House I, ca. 1955, chromogenic color print, 3 ½ x 5 inches. Collection of Palm Springs Art Museum. Jean Farrar Collection

In recognition of the iconic desert architect Albert Frey, Palm Springs Art Museum announces the most comprehensive exhibition and publication on his life and work to date. The exhibition, Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist, opens January 13, 2024 at the museum’s Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, and runs through June 3, 2024. It will include drawings, plans, images, and models—many from Frey’s personal archives which he bequeathed to the museum.

Photographer: Julius Shulman. Architects: Clark, Frey, and Chambers. Palm Springs City Hall, 1958, black and white digital lightjet print, 12 x 14 15/16 inches. Collection of Palm Springs Art Museum, Museum purchase, 29-2007.35. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Frey (1903-1998), had early career successes in Paris and New York before moving to Palm Springs where he realized most of his life work. His unique style of Desert Modernism cemented his legacy as one of the most influential architects, not only in the Coachella Valley, but also in the United States and the world. His personal residence, Frey House II, sits on the mountain side above Palm Springs Art Museum; it was also gifted to the institution by Frey and is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

A lavishly illustrated hardbound book, published by Radius Books, will accompany the exhibition and offer contributions from writers, historians, and critics.

The exhibition coincides with the opening of the permanent installation of Albert Frey and A. Lawrence Kocher’s Aluminaire House™ on museum grounds. One of the first examples of European-inspired Modern design in America, Aluminaire was conceived in 1931 as an experiment to explore new industrial materials in creating low-cost housing. It is now considered a masterpiece of modernist design. The public will be able to view the structure starting in early February.

Photographer: Julius Shulman. Architects: Frey and Chambers. Premiere Apartments, 1958, color digital lightjet print, 20 x 25 inches. Collection of Palm Springs Art Museum, Museum purchase, 29-2007.29. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

The museum is presenting several activities in conjunction with the exhibition. On Saturday, January 27, 2024 the museum’s biggest annual fundraiser Art Party will honor Frey’s legacy. During Modernism Week, the museum will feature Albert Frey: A SYMPOSIUM on Saturday, February 24, 2024 in the Annenberg Theater. The event will feature Paul Goldberger, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic, who will provide the keynote address, with presentations by Dunning; Barbara Lamprecht, architectural historian; and Joseph Rosa, architect and Frey biographer.

Architect: Albert Frey. Store Building # 2 for Culver Nichols, 1969. Collection of Art, Architecture & Design Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara.

WEB: For more information about Palm Springs Art Museum exhibitions, programs, and events, please visit psmuseum.org