Out & About is an occasional series that highlights the best Charlotte has to offer in arts and culture, entertainment, outdoor recreation, sports, dining, and shopping.

Original, iconic works by Andy Warhol, Miró, Giacometti, Picasso, Calder, Hepworth, Nicholson, Tinguely, Ernst, Le Corbusier, Chillida and many other influential artists are on display at The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Uptown Charlotte.

Just a five-minute drive from Queens' campus, the museum seeks to add significantly to the cultural landscape through exhibitions and programs that celebrate its collection of 20th-century modern art as well as the personal materials related to the collection that illuminate the unique role of the Bechtler family as patrons of the period's most innovative and influential artists.

The Bechtler is a jewel of a museum, only the second in this country designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, says John Boyer, its president and CEO. "It is intimate in scale, delightfully arresting in its spaces and vistas and simple and elegant in its materials," he says.

The Bechtler would not exist without the extraordinary generosity of art patron Andreas Bechtler. Inspired by his parents, Andreas made his remarkable collection (amassed by the Bechtler family over 70 years) available for all to engage - whether for solace and reflection, inspiration and surprise or for challenge and self-discovery, Boyer said.

 Special programs include:

• ARCHITECTURE + FILM: The Architecture + Film series investigates themes in modern and contemporary architecture through the lens of film.
•  JAZZ AT THE BECHTLER: Mid-century art meets mid-century music. Monthly jazz concerts are performed in the museum lobby and feature local and regional performers.   
• GUEST LECTURES: The Bechtler presents lectures by museum directors, art historians and other experts several times per year.
• MODERN MONDAYS: The Modern Mondays series is an informal, interactive opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, tours and featured lectures about exhibitions and works in the Bechtler collection. 
• MUSIC AND MUSEUM: The Music and Museum series combines visual art, musical compositions and discussions connecting modern chamber music and 20th-century modern art.

 The Bechtler is at 420 South Tryon St., and is closed only on Tuesdays. Student tickets are $6. Visit the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art for more information.