COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.-The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (FAC) is set to debut its $28.4 million renovation and expansion in just three short days. With the help of so me of the world’s most intriguing art icons – international art pioneer Thomas Hoving, outrageous film director John Waters, and Broadway legend Joel Grey, the 'Extre me ly Grand Opening' is guaranteed to go off with a bang!

The Architecture: The two-story, 48,000 square-foot expansion, conceived by award-winning architect David Owen Tryba, has been designed to compli me nt the original 1936 John Gaw Meem building, which has housed the FAC for the past 70 years and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The expanded 132,286 square-foot facility will host major international traveling exhibitions and feature works from the Center’s significant permanent collection.

The Art: The FAC’s $2 million collection of Dale Chihuly glass will be installed in the new museum. It is one of the largest in the world and includes the captivating Orange Hornet Chandelier.

The FAC’s permanent collection also features a wide array of A me rican art by John Singer Sargent, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, Walt Kuhn, John Ja me s Audubon, Robert Motherwell, Paul Cadmus and others. The FAC is noted for having one of the largest collections of Native A me rican and Southwestern Art in the country.

The Exhibition: The inaugural exhibition for the new building will be The Eclectic Eye: Pop and Illusion – Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, on view from the grand opening celebration through Oct. 28, 2007 . The visually stimulating and intellectually challenging exhibition presents a large selection of pop art collected by Weisman and his wife, Billie Milam Weisman. Artists featured include Cristo, Keith Haring, Nam June Paik, Ja me s Rosenquist and Andy Warhol, amongst others.