2 cols.

Rendering of the main entrance of the Stone Hill Center, Clark Art Institute.

FOR 12/7

STONE HILL CENTER MARKS FIRST PHASE CLARK’S EXPANSION w/1 cut

ak/gs set 11/28 #720754

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. — The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute announced that Stone Hill Center, the first phase of its expansion and institutional enhancement program, will open June 22. Designed by architect Tadao Ando, with landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand, the new building is located on a wooded hillside a short walk from the Clark’s two existing buildings.

The new building has been sited and designed to take advantage of the Clark’s rural setting, which distinguishes the institution among major art museums worldwide. Stone Hill Center will feature intimately scaled galleries with wall-sized windows, creating a setting for experiencing works of art that integrates the surrounding countryside and gradually changing natural light. The new building will include a studio art classroom, a conference room and an outdoor café. It will also serve as the new home for the Williamstown Art Conservation Center.

The two-story, 32,000-square-foot wood and glass building reveals one level when approached from its main entry to the south. The building is open to the landscape on all sides, allowing for dramatic views to the north, east and west. A large terrace provides spectacular panoramic views of the Green Mountains and Taconic Range. Large expanses of glass capture the northern light for the conservators and provide visitors with a view into the studio space.

Stone Hill Center will host smaller-scale special exhibitions of works from the Clark’s collections, as well as loaned works of art from periods and origins not usually seen at the Clark, such as non-Western and Twentieth Century Art. The grounds surrounding the building will also be used for sculpture space.

The inaugural exhibition will be “Through the Seasons: Japanese Art in Nature,” presenting Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Japanese painted screens and hanging scroll paintings together with contemporary Japanese ceramics. The exhibition will be on view June 22–October 13.

The second phase of the Clark’s expansion and institutional enhancement program includes the creation of another new, standalone building — also designed by Ando — adjacent to its current facilities. This new building will house special exhibition galleries, visitor orientation services and education and conference spaces.

Scheduled for completion in 2013, Phase II will also encompass the upgrade and internal expansion of the Clark’s current buildings. The new buildings and renovations will enable the Clark to reorganize the use of its facilities and further advance its dual mission as a major art museum and leading international center for research and higher education.

The Clark is at 225 South Street. For general information, www.clarkart.edu or 413-458-2303.