Martin Building Exterior.
Photo: Eric Stephenson, Courtesy of Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum Reopens After $175 Million Campus Revamp
The interiors of the institution’s Gio Ponti–designed building have been reconfigured by Fentress Architects and Machado Silvetti
Martin Building rooftop terrace. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
The only edifice in North America conceived by Italian architect Gio Ponti, the Denver Art Museum’s Lanny and Sharon Martin Building cuts an imposing figure, thanks to its dual-tower façade, clad in more than a million reflective glass tiles. On October 24, to mark the modernist structure’s 50th anniversary, the museum is unveiling a long-awaited $175 million, campus-wide renovation by Fentress Architects and Machado Silvetti that has completely reworked the landmark’s interiors and expanded its public space by more than 33,000 square feet. Filling the eight levels of updated art galleries will be multiple special exhibitions, such as “ReVisión: Art in the Americas,” which explores the museum’s stellar collection of Latin American art.
See below for the full tour.
Martin Building rooftop terrace at night. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Denver Art Museum campus with artist Edgar Heap of Birds’ Wheel sculpture. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
New Grand Staircase view from Duncan Hall. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Precourt Architecture & Design Galleries, By Design: Stories and Ideas Behind Objects exhibition. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.
Indigenous Arts of North America Galleries, Northwest Coast and Alaska Native Art. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Jesse & Nellie Shwayder Asian Art Galleries. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Davis W. Moore European Art Before 1800 Galleries. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
Avenir Textile Art and Fashion Galleries, Suited: Empowered Feminine Fashion exhibition. Photo: James Florio Photography, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2021 Fall Issue under the headline “Mile High Makeover.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Martin Building Exterior.
Photo: Eric Stephenson, Courtesy of Denver Art Museum
