Founded in 1988, Selldorf Architects focuses on reimaging the interiors of institutional, cultural, and residential spaces in minimal, elegant ways. The firm was responsible for projects at Neue Galerie New York, the Clark Art Institute, and numerous Chelsea art galleries. Annabelle Selldorf recently earned a commission from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta to reconceptualize galleries for the permanent collection. In 2012 she completed the restoration of a former boarding school, on the Venice island of San Giorgio Maggiore, to create Le Stanze del Vetro, a glass museum and exhibition space dedicated to modern and contemporary glassmaking.

Annabelle is using her stays at the Academy to conduct research on Vatican City, in particular, the evolution of the plan for the Vatican Museums. “Many years ago, I spent one year in Florence getting my master’s from Syracuse University. During my stay I went to Rome from time to time but never with enough time to see all there is to understand this complex city.” She will also travel to the Palazzo Reale in Milan to visit Italiana, an exhibition of Italian fashion from 1971 to 2001 whose design she oversaw. The show, on view through May 6, celebrates sixty years of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.