The Robert Olnick Pavilion

Magazzino Italian Art, the museum and research center dedicated to advancing scholarship and public appreciation of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States, is pleased to announce that they have broken ground on the Robert Olnick Pavilion. The new Pavilion, set to open in 2023, will be the second building on their campus in Cold Spring, New York.

The nonprofit museum serves as an advocate for Italian artists as it celebrates the
range of their creative practices from Arte Povera to the present. Through its curatorial, scholarly and public initiatives, Magazzino explores the impact and enduring resonances of Italian art on a global level.

Meaning “warehouse” in Italian, Magazzino was co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. The 20,000 square-foot museum, designed by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo, opened its doors in 2017, creating a new cultural hub and community resource within the Hudson Valley that is open and free to the public. Now, looking ahead, Magazzino will break ground on a second building in order to further its mission.

Renowned Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo have collaborated for the first time to design the Robert Olnick Pavilion in the same spirit as the existing Magazzino Italian Art building, which features more than 18,000 square feet of exhibition space as well as a library with more than 5,000 publications of Italian art. The new pavilion will add 13,000 square feet to the existing exhibition space and will incorporate a room devoted to decorative arts, ceramics and jewelry, alongside a multi- purpose room with auditorium capabilities and a combined cafe and shop on
the mezzanine. An Education Department will launch in 2023.

It’s been a great experience and honor to work with Alberto and to continue working with Nancy and Giorgio on the new building. Nancy’s father, Robert Olnick, has been a constant reference for us; I never had the opportunity to meet him, but designing this pavilion feels like an important way to honor him.

-Miguel Quismondo, Architect

We are thrilled to expand our facility and to welcome even more visitors, boosting our programming and consolidating our activities year-round in Cold Spring. The Robert
Olnick Pavilion will introduce new gallery spaces enabling us to host temporary exhibitions showcasing the work of postwar and contemporary artists, as well as important Italian designers. One of the most exciting aspects of the expansion is the opening of our Department of Education - hosted in our multi-purpose room - along with an auditorium that will allow us to continue our public programs in the colder months. We are making an important investment in the town of Cold Spring, a community that welcomed us so warmly over five years ago, as well as investing in our audience and visitors throughout the Tri-State region.

-Vittorio Calabrese, Director of Magazzino Italian Art

About Magazzino

Magazzino is a private warehouse art space in the Hudson Valley devoted to Postwar and Contemporary Italian Art. Meaning "warehouse" in Italian, the 20,000 square-foot structure is designed by architect Miguel Quismondo and dedicated to select works from the Olnick Spanu Collection. Co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, and directed by Vittorio Calabrese, Magazzino is free to the public by appointment. Inaddition to its curatorial program, Magazzino serves as a resource for scholars and students to utilize its extensive library and archive of Arte Povera, as well as a cultural hub for the vibrant Hudson Valley community. Magazzino bridges collaborations with American and Italian organizations to support contemporary Italian artists and foster discussions about Postwar and Contemporary Italian Art in the United States.'

About Alberto Campo Baeza

Alberto Campo Baeza is an Emeritus Head Professor of Design in the Madrid School of Architecture, ETSAM, where he has been a tenured Professor for more than 35 years. He has taught at the ETH in Zurich and the EPFL in Lausanne, as well as the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Kansas State University, CUA University in Washington and L’Ecole d’Architecture in Tournai, Belgium. More recently, he has been namedthe Clarkson Chair of Architecture by Buffalo University and Walton Critic Speaker at the School of Architecture and Planning of CUA, the Catholic University of America in Washington. From 2018-2019 he was a visiting professor at the School of Architecture of Barcelona, ETSAB. From 2017 to 2020 he was Emeritus Head Professor of Design. In 2021 he taught as Visiting Professor at the New York Institute of Technology and won the National Prize for Architecture.

About Miguel Quismondo

Born and raised in Spain, Miguel Quismondo, AIA, received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic School in Madrid and developed his career in the United States, first at Perkins+Will and later collaborating with Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza on the construction of Casa Mia. In the last decade Quismondo has worked for Olnick Spanu on the design, construction and management of Casa Mia, the Olnick Spanu Art Program and the couple’s latest initiative, Magazzino Italian Art. Quismondo holds Masters degrees in Real Estate Development from Columbia University andin Construction Management from NYU. Quismondo’s work has been featured in La Biennale di Venezia, Architectural Record, A+U and Casabella, among other publications.