Cooper Hewitt is delighted to add this extraordinary Renaissance drawing to the collection. A scene of “Men Hunting Bulls with Falcons,” it belongs to a series of (often outlandish) hunting images created by Jan van der Straet, called Stradanus (1523–1605). Cooper Hewitt is among the most important resources for the study of Stradanus, court artist...
Design Watch $750 $490 tax-deductible A portion of dues support Cooper Hewitt’s Acquisition Fund. All of the above, plus: Private design studio visits Special access to design and art fairs Opportunity to attend Design Miami Subscription to Smithsonian Magazine Acknowledgement in annual donor listings
Paul Johnson, who established Johnson Trading Gallery in 2007, welcomed Design Watch Members for a look into the gallery’s mix of vintage and contemporary pieces by emerging designers. Highlights included Max Lamb’s hand-molded wax and nanocrystalline copper chairs; Kwangho Lee’s customized electric cables hand-woven and fashioned into lamps; Ricky Clifton’s Egyptian-styled furniture and...
Design Watch Members from across the nation met in Miami for a memorable week of design. The seventh edition of Design Miami/ featured the world’s leading galleries specializing in 20th and 21st century collectible design. This year’s expanded fair included 28 galleries. Among them, Cristina Grajales Gallery, Galerie Maria Wettergren, Moss, Mark McDonald, Venice Projects,...
The materials want to be something, they are waiting. Each material has its own function and potential. -Shigeru Ban Earlier this week, Cooper-Hewitt’s Design Watch Members had the special privilege of visiting Metal Shutter Houses, Shigeru Ban’s first condominium project in the United States, with Dean Maltz, Partner at Shigeru Ban Architects, and developer...
Design Watch Members explored the International Contemporary Furniture Fair with Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Curatorial Director. The tour’s theme, wallcoverings and textiles, led us to Scrapwood Wallpaper Made in Holland by Piet Hein Eek. Best known for crafting furniture from salvaged wood, Hein Eek created a line of non-woven, washable wallpaper. Next, we visited Trove for...
Yesterday Design Watch Members toured the 10,500 square-foot library branch in Battery Park City, New York Public Library’s ‘greenest’ location. NYPL wanted a forward-looking design to emphasize their commitment to the 21st century. The bright and open spaces create a welcoming sense of community, while the design of everything from the furniture to shelving and...
SIMS Municipal Recycling Facility in Brooklyn. Image courtesy of Selldorf Architects. Selldorf Architects, located at Manhattan’s Union Square, recently opened their studio to Cooper-Hewitt’s Design Watch Members. The firm has acquired an international reputation for work that is sensitive to context and program, thoughtful in execution and timeless. The firm has worked on public and...
Design Watch Members from across the nation – Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa, New York, and Miami – gathered for an action-packed week of design in Miami. Joined by Cooper-Hewitt’s Caroline Baumann, Associate Director, and Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Curatorial Director, we explored the Design Miami/, Art Basel Miami Beach, and surrounding fairs; made new...
Another day with Design Watch Members in Miami…. First stop: 1111 Lincoln Road with architect Nils Sanderson from Swiss architects’ Herzog & de Mueron’s office. Nils started the tour in front of this just completed parking garage (but this is no ordinary parking garage) that anchors the western end of the pedestrian Lincoln Road. Starting...
First stop: Moorhead & Moorhead’s Design Miami/ tent exterior. The Cooper-Hewitt group was greeted by brothers, Robert (industrial designer) and Granger (architect), to talk about the dynamic canopied entrance to the design show – a bris soleil of hand cut, twisted vinyl strips that perform a dance of shadows on the ground. Taking a...
On September 24, Design Watch Members were treated to a rare look into the Richard Meier & Partners Model Gallery in Long Island City, overlooking the Pepsi-Cola sign and the East River. A mammoth model of The Getty Center greeted viewers: made of basswood and birch, the 25’ x 25’ model rested on 16...
Trove founders Jee Levin and Randall Buck invited Cooper-Hewitt’s Design Watch Members to their environmentally responsible wallcovering atelier for a private visit. Jee and Randall constantly seek new ways to translate this three dimensional, five sensory world into a visual two dimensional language. Their modern photographic wallcoverings break the rules of traditional design. Patterns are...
Design Watch Members got an insider’s look at the 22nd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair with Cooper-Hewitt’s deputy curatorial director Matilda McQuaid. Stops included: Areaware, Artek, Trove, Material ConneXion, INSIDENORWAY, Lobmeyr, and Metropolis with Emily Pilloton’s Design Revolution roadster. Watch this video of ActiveMATTER from Material ConneXion. Materials on the go!
Cooper-Hewitt’s Design Watch Members visited Steelcase for a private tour of the showroom and sunset reception on the terrace overlooking Columbus Circle. Lew Epstein presented the trends behind media:space, the convergence of furniture and technology, changing the way we think of work spaces as collaborative “destinations”. Members also previewed the Cobi chair, featured in the...
