Billionaire Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man gave a sneak peak Tuesday at the new museum where he plans to show his vast collection of art and collectibles, including priceless pieces by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, French sculptor Auguste Rodin and Italian master Leonardo da Vinci.
The Soumaya museum, named after the Carlos Slim's wife will opens to the public on March 29 and admission will be free. The Carlos Slim Foundation will underwrite all of the museum’s expenses, including maintenance and the cost of mounting exhibitions.
The museum "will be important for the Mexican people ... it will be a place for them to enrich themselves with international history, with art history, with the history of Mexico," Slim said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by President Felipe Calderon, Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and U.S. television host Larry King. Hundreds of guests packed the Soumaya late Tuesday
Designed by Slim's architect son-in-law, Fernando Romero, who apprenticed under Pritzker Prize winner and urbanist Rem Koolhaas. The six-story, anvil-shaped building cuts a dramatic arc through the skyline of the capital's upscale Polanco district. Some 16,000 aluminum panels make up the museum's bending exterior, reflecting sunlight onto broad stairs leading to the entrance.
Inside, the Soumaya features 183,000 square feet (17,000 square meters) of exhibition space encompassing six halls.
The gleaming, aluminum-plated structure, which cost an estimated $34 million was built with no budget limit. Carlos Slim said in an interview "There will be no limits. We will decide what needs to be done at the museum and just do it.”
SOURCES:
NPR
BBC UK - MEXICO'S CARLOS SLIM OPENS' NEW ART GALLERY
The Soumaya museum, named after the Carlos Slim's wife will opens to the public on March 29 and admission will be free. The Carlos Slim Foundation will underwrite all of the museum’s expenses, including maintenance and the cost of mounting exhibitions.
The museum "will be important for the Mexican people ... it will be a place for them to enrich themselves with international history, with art history, with the history of Mexico," Slim said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by President Felipe Calderon, Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and U.S. television host Larry King. Hundreds of guests packed the Soumaya late Tuesday
Designed by Slim's architect son-in-law, Fernando Romero, who apprenticed under Pritzker Prize winner and urbanist Rem Koolhaas. The six-story, anvil-shaped building cuts a dramatic arc through the skyline of the capital's upscale Polanco district. Some 16,000 aluminum panels make up the museum's bending exterior, reflecting sunlight onto broad stairs leading to the entrance.
Inside, the Soumaya features 183,000 square feet (17,000 square meters) of exhibition space encompassing six halls.
The gleaming, aluminum-plated structure, which cost an estimated $34 million was built with no budget limit. Carlos Slim said in an interview "There will be no limits. We will decide what needs to be done at the museum and just do it.”
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NPR
BBC UK - MEXICO'S CARLOS SLIM OPENS' NEW ART GALLERY
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