ANDI SCHMIED: PRIVATE VIEWS. A HIGH-RISE PANORAMA OF MANHATTAN
Despite the iconic nature of the Manhattan skyline, there are only four places the public can see it from, even if paying: the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, ONE World Trade Center, and the Edge at Hudson Yards. All other elevated views are a private privilege, only available to owners of luxury penthouses.
Posing as an apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, Andi Schmied accessed and documented the views of 25 of the city's most exclusive high-rise properties. Her project, Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan offers a glimpse into this elite world. Showcasing the surreal strategies of persuasion used by real estate agents, the exhibition book allows visitors to bypass the gatekeepers of luxury real estate, guiding them through the sunset from Trump Tower, view from the private club of the tallest residential tower on the planet, and showing samples of the most luxurious materials, such as the Siberian marble used in soaking tubs overlooking the Statue of Liberty.
The exhibition opening takes place on Thursday 7 October 2021 at 7 pm at the Brno Gallery of Architecture. The exhibition runs until 26 November 2021 and is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 2 pm to 7 pm. The publication Private Views. A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan will be available for purchase at the gallery. The accompanying program will include a guided tour of the exhibition with the author Andi Schmied and lectures by researchers on the financialization of housing.
Andi Schmied: Private Views. A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan
7. 10.–26. 11. 2021, WED–SUN 2–7 pm
exhibition opening 7. 10. 2021 at 7 pm
Brno Gallery of Architecture, Starobrněnská 18
production: Karolína Plášková
architecture: Petra Šebová
graphic design: Barbora Růžičková
translations: Filip Staněk
project support: Adéla Šoborová, Radmila Presová
supevision: Jan Kristek
This project was realized with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Czech Architecture Foundation, Faculty of Architecture at the Brno University of Technology, Future Architecture Platform and Graham Foundation, with help from the VI PER Gallery and Trapéz Gallery.