FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Susan Galardi
631-283-2118 x122
[email protected]
INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK OF ARCHITECTURE FIRM DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO IS
FEATURED IN A DOCUMENTARY FROM CHECKERBOARD FILM FOUNDATION
Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the Highline, Scheduled for Friday,
March 27, 6pm, Features Unique Insights into the Process of Reimagining Iconic Urban Spaces
Images: (L to R) Diller Scofidio + Renfro Movie Poster. Courtesy Checkerboard Film Foundation;
Charles Renfro. Photo: Alessio Boni
WATER MILL, NY 3/19/2015—The Parrish Art Museum is presenting, Diller Scofidio + Renfro:
Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line—a film documenting the firm’s work on two major New
York City public spaces: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the High Line. The 54-minute film,
produced by Checkerboard Film Foundation Founder Edgar B. Howard, scheduled for Friday, March 27
at 6pm, offers commentary from the architects, New York City planning commissioner, civic figures, and
architecture critics about how the award-winning interdisciplinary firm’s work on iconic urban spaces was
realized between 2004 and 2011.
The screening of Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line, will be followed
by a discussion with Partner Charles Renfro and Century Arts Foundation Curator of Special Projects at
the Parrish, Andrea Grover.
“Diller Scofidio + Renfro are among the world’s most renowned and experimental architectural studios.
The screening of this documentary followed by a conversation with partner Charles Renfro enriches and
broadens the Parrish’s ongoing investigation of art and architecture,” said Grover.
The interdisciplinary design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro has long been at the forefront of design. Founded
in 1979, it first stirred interest with its provocative exhibitions of theoretically based projects that blurred
the boundaries between art and architecture. In 1999, founding principals Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo
Scofidio were awarded the prestigious “genius" grant by the MacArthur Foundation, in recognition of their
commitment to integrating architecture with issues of contemporary culture.
With the nearly simultaneous completion of two large-scale projects in New York City— the revitalization
of the High Line and renovation and expansion of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts—Diller Scofidio
+ Renfro has galvanized the public's attention. Between 2004 and 2011, the firm collaborated with James
Corner Field Operations to convert the derelict High Line railroad tracks on the city’s West Side (from
Gansevoort to 30th Streets) into a 1.5 mile elevated urban park.
From early 2003 to 2010, DS+R redesigned Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. DS+R’s work on the
campus included the renovation and expansion of the Juilliard School, the expansion of the School of
American Ballet, the redesign of Alice Tully Hall and the public spaces across the 16-acre campus.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line is the third collaboration between
the Parrish and Checkerboard in a new program series designed to screen documentaries on art and
architecture that offer insight into the creative process with a specific relevance to the Museum’s
collection and mission. Previous screenings included Roy Lichtenstein: Tokyo Brushstrokes, and Ralph
Gibson: Photographer/Book Artist.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line
Friday, March 27, 6pm
Color, 54 minutes; produced in 2012; Producer: Edgar B. Howard; Director: Muffie Dunn & Tom Piper
Friday Nights are made possible, in part, by the generous support of Bridgehampton National Bank and
The Corcoran Group.
About Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is an interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, the visual
arts, and the performing arts. Based in New York City, the 115-person studio is led by three partners—
Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, and Charles Renfro—who work collaboratively on the design of each
project.
About Charles Renfro
Charles Renfro, a Partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has led the design for many of the firm’s projects
including the Creative Arts Center at Brown University, the renovation and expansion of the Julliard
School at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and Blur for
the 2002 Swiss Expo. His work with DS+R has been exhibited worldwide at museums and institutions
includes the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum, the Netherlands Architecture
Institute, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the Centre Pompidou. Renfro is a graduate of Rice
University and received a Master of Architecture from Columbia University’s GSAPP. In 2012, he was
honored as a Rice University Distinguished Alumnus, making him one of the youngest alumni to ever
receive this prestigious award. Recently, Renfro was made a National Academy Academician and was a
recipient of the 2015 Texas Medal of the Arts Awards.
About Checkerboard Film Foundation
Checkerboard Film Foundation was established in 1979 to document artists who are making unique and
important contributions to American arts and culture. Their over 50 film titles include profiles of Roy
Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Kiki Smith, Sol LeWitt, Philip Johnson, the Paris Review, John Szarkowski,
Carrie Mae Weems, Horst, and Sir John Soane’s Museum.Currently, Checkerboard is producing films on
John Richardson and Picasso, Jeff Koons, Piet Oudolf, Vladimir Kagan, the Cornell Tech campus on
Roosevelt Island, and Dorothea Rockburne (for the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies FAPE).
About the Parrish Art Museum
Inspired by the natural setting and artistic life of Long Island’s East End, the Parrish Art Museum
illuminates the creative process and how art and artists transform our experiences and understanding of
the world and how we live in it. The Museum fosters connections among individuals, art, and artists
through care and interpretation of the collection, presentation of exhibitions, publications, educational
initiatives, programs, and artists-in residence. The Parrish is a center for cultural engagement, an
inspiration and destination for the region, the nation, and the world.