Artist Jorge Otero-Pailos unveils the exhibition “Defense Fence Treaties” at NMAD

On June 4, 2024, the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) opened in Embassies in collaboration with the Foundation for Art and Preservation Defense contractsan art exhibition by artist and preservation architect Jorge Otero-Pailos that explores the interface between art, architecture and cultural diplomacy.

The exhibition presents Otero-Pailos’ artistic intervention at the disused U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, designed by famed modernist architect Eero Saarinen during the Cold War and which Otero-Pailos helped preserve.

On display are sculptures he created using the steel fence that once protected the embassy, ​​an artifact he considered historically significant and that would have been destined for the scrapyard. The exhibition also features a book of 51 limited edition prints, some of which hang on the walls, and which are inspired by the diplomatic treaties that the fence witnessed.

Otero-Pailos conceived these artworks to spark a national discussion about the preservation of U.S. embassies during the Cold War as many of them were decommissioned. The embassies were originally intended to promote goodwill toward the United States through their public libraries, theaters, and art galleries. The exhibition explores art’s potential to reimagine its future while honoring its original intent.

This exhibition runs parallel to Analogue pages, Otero-Pailos’ public art exhibition on Park Avenue in New York City. The public art installation, on view through October 2024, consists of three of the larger sculptures created from the fence, located in the East 53rd, 66th and 67th Street shopping centers across from the landmark Seagram and Park Avenue Armory buildings.

NMAD’s mission is to present the history, challenges, and practice of U.S. diplomacy to the American public. Through exhibitions like these, NMAD aims to inspire visitors to learn more about the work of diplomacy and its impact around the world.

On June 4, 2024, NMAD and FAPE hosted a reception and panel discussion to open the exhibition. The panel discussion included the artist and David B. Peterson, executive director of the Onera Foundation and author of U.S. Embassies in the Cold War: The Architecture of Democracy, Diplomacy, and Defense. The discussion was moderated by Associate Editor of The Washington Post Eugene Robinson.

Peterson began the discussion with an overview of the embassies established during the Cold War. He spoke about the buildings themselves and the significant role they played in managing global relationships.

“It’s hard to exaggerate the fear and anxiety about the Cold War,” Peterson said. “Embassies were not just about diplomacy. They were about cultural diplomacy that connected international audiences to American culture and values.”

The architects chosen to build these embassies were the best of their time. Eugene Robinson commented, “Through her open, forward-thinking designs, our country’s values ​​were represented through her work.”

“This exhibition, for me, is really an attempt to start a discussion about how we can preserve these amazing modernist messages that we have built… and how we can bring them to the public,” Otero-Pailos said.

Defense contracts is about sharing with the public the diverse work of diplomacy that Otero-Pailos discovered through the project. “I thought diplomacy was about preventing war, but it’s about so many other things. For me, it was incredible to learn the work of diplomacy and the art of diplomacy.”

The exhibition is in collaboration with and through the generosity of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), thanks to the Ford Foundation, with additional funding from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. It was conceived, curated and produced in collaboration with Otero-Pailos Studio.

Defense contracts will be open to the public during several open houses this summer. Visitors can register for the exhibition and other exhibitions at NMAD on June 12, June 26, July 10 and July 31 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. or 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Spaces are limited and registration is required at least 48 hours in advance. Visitors can register using NMAD’s website form. For those unable to view the exhibition in person, visitors can view much of the art on the NMAD exhibition page. The website allows visitors to explore complementary audio clips from the artist.

You can also learn more about the exhibition on FAPE’s Bloomberg Connects page. On a mobile device, click this link to access the digital guide.

Jorge Otero-Pailos (born 1971, Madrid) is an American-Spanish artist and preservation architect known for his monumental dust prints of historic buildings. Together with his partner Laurence Lafforgue (born 1975, Paris) they run the Otero-Pailos Studio as a platform for experimental conservation projects. Otero-Pailos has been commissioned and exhibited by major heritage sites, museums, foundations and biennales, including the Chicago Architecture Biennale (2017), Artangel’s Public Art Commission at the British Parliament (2016), the V&A Museum (2015) and the Venice Biennale (2009). He is the recipient of a 2021-22 American Academy in Rome Residency in Fine Arts.

Otero-Pailos collaborates on the creative restoration and interpretation of landmarks. In particular, Otero-Pailos achieved an award-winning restoration of New Holland Island in St. Petersburg, Russia, in collaboration with WorkAC (2013) and the Saarinen-designed former US Embassy in Oslo, Norway, with Langdalen Arkitektkontor, Atelier Oslo, and Lund Hagem Architects (2023). He is Director and Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), where he also directs the Columbia Preservation Technology Lab and received the first Ph.D. founded. Historic Preservation Program in the United States.

The National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) is the first and only museum dedicated to the history, challenges, and practice of U.S. diplomacy. This unique museum is located where diplomacy happens every day: at the U.S. State Department headquarters in Washington, DC

The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) is a public-private partnership dedicated to providing permanent works of American art to U.S. embassies worldwide. For nearly 40 years, FAPE has contributed to the U.S. Department of State’s mission of cultural diplomacy by collaborating with American artists whose works advance intercultural understanding within the diplomatic community and the international public. FAPE believes that American art is a means of expressing our values ​​and culture and is another language of diplomacy that brings people together.

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