The Grunwald Gallery of Art will present “Mies in Indiana,” an exhibition that explores the little-known history of Mies van der Rohe’s architecture in Indiana between 1947 and 1953, particularly in Indianapolis and Bloomington. 

The exhibition tells the story of Mies’ design activities in both cities with photographs of polished presentation models, renderings, unique historical project correspondence and the stories of this period of the designer’s life.

In the more than 50 years since his passing in 1969, Mies continues to be a larger-than-life figure in the world of modern architecture and design. This exhibition explores his work in Indiana and how it ultimately influenced more well-known work in Chicago and beyond.

The exhibition, organized by Adam Thies and faculty member Jon Racek, opened Aug. 26 and continues through Nov. 12.

Racek, who is a senior lecturer and director of comprehensive design at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at IU Bloomington, and Thies, associate vice president of capital planning and design at IU, share their five-plus years of architectural research and discovery through this exhibition. 

Original images, letters and project files from the Mies van der Rohe Archive of the Museum of Modern Art New York and the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago help to bring the story of this forgotten period to life. 

“Mies and modern design have not been associated with Indiana, but the history we’ve discovered says otherwise,” Racek said. “It’s clear that Mies and his team were doing important design work in Indiana during this period.”

The exhibition is sponsored by the IU College Arts and Humanities Institute and the Central Indiana Community Foundation Evans Woolen Fund. Additional support was provided by the Eskenazi School of School of Art, Architecture + Design.