Asheville – R. Buckminster Fuller’s creations and designs are brought to Western North Carolina as part of the exhibition Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet, which also informs visitors about Fuller’s engineering, mathematics, and housing solutions for the sustainability of people and the planet.
The show is divided into three sections: Inventions; Synergetics; and Black Mountain College and Lasting Influence. It includes two significant print suites by Buckminster Fuller in addition to other outstanding pieces from his multi-decade career. The Inventions portfolio, which Fuller put together in 1981 from his career of discoveries and a number of existing models, is an example of his vision. In his Synergetics portfolio, Fuller published a number of mathematical systems and philosophies in the late 1970s that might be utilized to address issues in many facets of human existence.
Fuller’s summer 1948 and 1949 teaching stints at Black Mountain College were significant for Asheville. In order to experiment with creating more inexpensive homes, he built his first geodesic dome there, which is significant. A selection of works by artists and designers who were directly influenced by Buckminster Fuller’s innovations in art and design, such as Jade Doskow, Kenneth Snelson, and Kirsten Stolle, are included alongside more than 30 significant works by Fuller.
Through student-made models on display in the exhibition, the University of North Carolina Asheville’s STEAM Studio brings to life the concepts of Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome and Geodesic Dome—two designs that revolutionized the history of modern architecture. A copy of Fuller’s Dymaxion Car, on loan from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, will be on display in the Museum’s Atrium throughout the duration of the exhibition to welcome visitors.
On View now: Now—Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet
Through August 21, 2023
Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall • Level 1
Public Tour: Thursday, April 20 • 6–7pm
$7 for Members, $10 plus general admission for nonmembers