In celebration of Niemeyer's 100th birthday, the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations has organized an exhibition of architectural models, original sketches and drawings, sculptures, paintings, furniture, photographs and videos related to the work of Brazil's star architect. The exhibition will be on view from September 10 through October 26, 2008, Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm at the Art Museum of the Americas, in Washington, DC.

     Regarded as one of the major contributors to the development of modern architecture, Oscar Niemeyer has produced over 700 public works in his native Brazil and abroad. He is perhaps best known for both his projects in the city of Brasília and his partnership with Le Corbusier for the UN building in New York. The designs he made for  the architectural complex within Pampulha, an artificial lake in Minas Gerais in the 1940s, and for the Pilot Plan (master layout) for Brasilia in the late 1950s brought him international recognition as one of the standard-bearers of modernism in the world of architecture.

     By associating the teachings of Le Corbusier with Brazil’s cultural realities and the exuberant sensuality of the tropics, especially that of his native city, Rio de Janeiro, Oscar Niemeyer found a way to create an original and distinguished architectural style, based on the freedom of its plasticity and the exuberance of its forms, taking full advantage of the potential of reinforced concrete and modern construction techniques.

     Even after his 100th birthday, in December of 2007, Niemeyer continued to work hard, putting in long shifts every day.  And finishing up several projects a month in Brazil and overseas: a cultural complex in Avilés, Spain, an administrative center in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, corporate headquarters for the Binational Itaipu hydropower company in Paraguay, and a Cultural Center in Valparaíso, Chile. 

     For further information or images, please contact cultural@brasilemb.org or gsvitil@oas.org. Additional information is also available at www.brasilemb.org and www.museum.oas.org."