Beginning on July 1, the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) will host Randy Shull/Wide Open: Architecture and Design at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, an exhibition that marks the completed renovation and expansion of the BMCM+AC, located in Asheville, North Carolina.

Phase One of the project, led by artist and designer Randy Shull and J. Richard Gruber, PhD, Director of the newly launched Architecture + Design Institute (A+D@BMCM+AC), spanned from 2014 to 2015. The museum re-opened on January 30, 2015, following a renovation of its original site, at 56 Broadway Street, along with an addition. The addition created retail space, a gallery, and a BMC library and study center.

The conversion of a property across from the museum, 67 Broadway Street, comprises Phase Two, which began last year. This 2,400-square-foot space will host exhibitions, performances, and public programs as well as house offices and storage space for BMC work when it opens on July 1, 2016.

The exhibition celebrates “the enduring legacy of Black Mountain College (BMC, 1933-57) through the lens of its architecture and design program and the influential innovators who taught there,” notably: Josef Albers, a Bauhaus master who transformed the institution as a teacher; his wife and artist, Anni; and Buckminster Fuller. Shull’s custom-made furniture and exhibition displays were inspired by Albers and some of its components are permanently integrated into the space: graphic panels, hand-built furniture, and a customized pegboard display system. Also featured are photographs of Shull’s work that as it relates to BMC.

Asheville-based Susan Rhew Design collaborated with Gruber and Shull to develop a clear identity for the museum, Randy Shull/Wide Open, and other related materials.

Dr. Gruber praised Shall’s work, stating: “The new gallery space Randy created is eloquently synced with the original site across the street, the educational and artistic mission of BMCM+AC, and the spirit of innovation and experimentation that was a BMC hallmark. Like the Bauhaus masters who taught at BMC, he has blurred the lines between art, architecture, design, and traditional notions of craft.”

The exhibition will be open until September 3.