Chau Chak Wing Museum presents Harry Seidler exhibition, Chau Chak Wing Museum , 21 July 2026
A retrospective exhibition on the work and life of preeminent Australian architect Harry Seidler, opens at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum following a highly successful exhibition at San Marco Art Centre (SMAC), in Venice last year.
Open from 18 July, Migrating Modernism: The architecture of Harry Seidler is curated by Chau Chak Wing Museum Senior Curator Ann Stephen, and Dr Paolo Stracchi from the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture Design and Planning.
Migrating Modernism is an exploration of Seidler’s individual projects and collaborations with architects, engineers and artists. They include Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, Frank Stella and Lin Utzon. It positions Seidler not only as a standout practitioner in Australia, but as a global exemplar of modernism.
Bauhaus and beyond
The free exhibition also explores Seidler’s studies under Bauhaus emigre teachers Walter Gropius and Josef Albers in the USA.
Artworks by those Seidler worked closely with, including Albers, Alexander Calder, Helen Frankenthaler and Sol LeWitt are a key feature of the exhibition.
A luminary among 20th century architects in Australia and one of the most influential voices of the country’s Modern Movement, Seidler’s legacy spans single-family dwellings, inventive towers, public buildings and progressive housing schemes. His vision was realised around the world, in cities including Acapulco, Paris (where he designed the Australian embassy), Hong Kong and his native Vienna.
Australia Square, MLC Centre (now 25 Martin Place) and Grosvener Place in Sydney, and Riverside Centre in Brisbane are among his landmark designs in Australia. His first Australian design in 1948-50, Rose Seidler house built for his parents, is now a heritage-listed museum in Wahroonga, Sydney.
“Living in Sydney, we see how Harry Seidler’s modern vision introduced a distinctly cosmopolitan culture to Australian cities—not only through his buildings, but also through the art he commissioned to open up major public spaces,” said Dr Stephen.
Caption: Installation view from “Migrating Modernism: The architecture of Harry Seidler” with artworks by Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt, SMAC San Marco Art Centre, Venice, 2025. © estate of Sol LeWitt & estate of Frank Stella