We are a NON-PROFIT project offering a list of DECORATIVE ARTS + DESIGN EXHIBITIONS searchable by CITY, COUNTRY OR OPENING MONTH, as well as specially commissioned reviews, articles and interviews. We support research and thoughtful analyses of the curation and exhibition of design. For a complimentary listing contact Joanne Molina at Joanne@CuratedObject.us We'd love to hear from you!
Our Philosophy
Sometimes whispering and other times shouting, objects have their own time and cadence. The Curated Object is interested in the exhibition of objects and those who find our engagement with them compelling. Objects act out all the time and revolt against us. Listening carefully is our quest.
Vase, manufactured by Rozenburg Den Haag, decorated by H. G. A. Huyvenaar, 1903, eggshell porcelain, the MFAH.
Josef Hoffmann, Vitrine (Model no. 600/9), made by Jacob & Josef Kohn, c. 1905–08, ebonized beech, glass, and brass, the MFAH.
Carlo Bugatti, Armchair, c. 1890–1900, wood, vellum silk, copper, brass, and possibly pewter, the MFAH.
Emile Gallé, Water Lily Vase, c. 1895–1900, cameo-cut glass, the MFAH.
Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century
Feb 26 2011 - Jul 31 2011
This exhibition features European decorative and fine art from about 1890 to 1910. Works by artists such as Hector Guimard, František Kupka, Edvard Munch, and Vilmós Zsolnay illustrate the fascination of the period with dreams, nature, and the exotic—as well as the creeping unrest felt in Europe as the old century ended and a new, uncertain, one began. Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century also features several Art Nouveau items collected by Dominique de Menil that are now part of the Menil Collection.
Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century is organized by the MFAH.
This exhibition receives generous funding from: Continental Airlines
This hand was the centerpiece of a popular late 19th and early 20th Century spiritualistic stage effect. The carved wooden hand, resting on a sheet of clear glass held by audience members, would rap out answers to questions. Traditionally, the hand would rap once for “yes” and twice for “no,” but it could also respond with numerical answers to personal questions, such as “How many children will I have?” and “How old will I be when I marry?” The effect could be played straight or tongue-in-cheek, depending on the performer and audience.
Photo by Tom DuBrock, In 1563, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a law was passed making the practice of witchcraft a felony. This led to the persecution of many innocents and so outraged a gentleman farmer, Reginald Scot, Esquire (1538-1599) that he decided to publish an exposé of the fallacies of such superstitious thinking. In 1584, his self-published The Discoverie of Witchcraft became the first book in English “debunking” such superstitions. But it was regarded by many as heretical, since it countered the teachings of the Church of England at the time.
Scot chiefly discussed tricks with balls, coins and cards, but also apparent feats of self mutilation and even decapitation. In doing so, he gave us an intimate portrait of the 16th century conjuring repertoire and its technical basis. Although Scot’s intent was to expose—rather than teach—magic, his book formed the basis of conjuring literature in English and several other languages (it was quickly translated into Dutch and German) for more than 200 years. It is also said to have been used by Shakespeare as a source for his plays when dealing with the themes of witchcraft.
The Crystal Clock Dial, Photo by Tom DuBrock
A classic stage effect that dates to the 19th century and remained popular into the early 20th century, but is seldom seen today. In this spiritualistic feat, a number from 1 to 12 – merely thought of by an audience member – is divined by the spirits when the freely spinning clock hand mysteriously slows and stops on the spectator’s number.
Magic: The Science of Wonder
February 26-September 6, 2010
Magic—illusory feats of wonder that dazzle the eye and confound expectations—has fascinated humanity for centuries. Mesmerized by the masters of illusion who perform this mysterious craft, we’re drawn to the spectacle, curious to discover “How did they do that?”
Though their methods are enshrouded in secrecy, magicians combine the art of performance with a variety of scientific disciplines, including math, physics and psychology, to create their dazzling effects and fascinating illusions. With a touch of hocus-pocus and a dash of abracadabra, the Houston Museum of Natural Science pulls a spectacular new exhibition out of its hat—Magic: The Science of Wonder, opening Friday, February 26, 2010. The extraordinary show examines how science and magic are intertwined through more than 100 fascinating artifacts and mesmerizing live performances. Magic is the perfect subject to inspire people of all ages, especially kids, to learn about the science behind magic and the world around them.
“In a way, it’s Science that gives us the language to experience Wonder. It’s the head-on collision of the two that inspires an unexpected feeling within...that’s what magic is all about for me,” said Scott Cervine, guest curator of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. “It’s no accident that Magic’s greatest innovators are often inventors or scientists first, who then become smitten with their own feeling of amazement and want to share it with a larger audience.”
Presenting an array of artifacts connected with legendary performers of the past and present, the exhibition will also feature film and video clips of famous magicians, as well as guest illusionists performing live. Among the many intriguing artifacts to be featured are torches for fire eating; magic lanterns and automatons; Harry Houdini’s trademark milk can and water escape trunk; Harry Blackstone’s “Zig Zag Girl” prop; Mike Caveney’s linking coat hangers; and items from the acts of Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, and other superstars of magic.
Walk Through the Exhibition
As visitors enter Magic, they will immediately pause at the impressive sight of a giant keyhole, which creates a feeling of ‘peering in’ to a secret room. At the end of the corridor, the ornate stone bust of a beautiful woman, modeled after Adelaide Herrmann, one of the feminine figures of magic history, stands seven feet tall. The eyes of the statue are closed, but her spirit draws visitors just the same.
Walking through the eccentric hallway that leads within, a glance from side to side reveals translucent walls and images of 22 well known magicians, such as Robert-Houdin, Harry Houdini, Blackstone, Dai Vernon and many other legends. Then, travel through the history of magic. Learn how this mystical art began; meet famous magicians who transformed the art from the earliest recorded illusions, dated back to the first century A.D., to the present day, and find out how popular writers such as Chaucer and Rabelais used the colorful metaphor of the magician in their works. Marvel at sensational relics used to ‘wow’ audiences – like the mysterious rapping hand illusion; a flea circus; and cups and balls—the earliest recorded illusion, this classic deception, in which the magician makes three small balls vanish and appear under three cups, is now known throughout the world.
Enter the Hall of Principles and discover different principles of magic (click to play video) through visual illustrations: appearance; disappearance; restoration; penetration; suspension; levitation; transformation; and transposition. Then, discover the Women of Magic. See photographs, posters and props used by past performers, followed by contemporary women Magicians including Tina Lenert, who combines mime, story and magic to create her award-winning act.
Next, experience an all-new illusion by entering a life-size replica of Alexander Herrmann’s private train car, created especially for this exhibition. Known as Hermann the Great, Alexander traveled from one magical performance to the next by train with his wife, Adelaide; this powerful illusion —where visitors experience something akin to a séance led by the spirit of Adelaide Herrmann herself —is designed for only the bravest visitors.
Finally, enter a live theater, built from the ground up especially for this exhibition. At just under 100 seats, the theater’s ornate proscenium and red velvet curtain create a feeling of intimacy for visitors’ live encounter with one of our many award-winning Magicians.
Many, many other surprises are in store. The Houston Museum of Natural Science invites you to step out of everyday life and into a world where amazement lies around every corner.
Magic: The Science of Wonder, developed by the Houston Museum of Natural Science in partnership with Movies From The Heart, is generously supported by Weatherford International Ltd. and HMW Entertainment.
HOUSTON— Marilyn Monroe popularized a certain highly-prized gem when she sang “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend.” And, there’s that old saying, “diamonds are forever.” For centuries, these stunning stones have inspired extravagant myths and unyielding desires in diverse cultures throughout the world. Marvel at these minerals, described as “dazzling,” “cool,” “elegant,” “regal,” “unyielding,” “stylish” and “pure” when The Nature of Diamonds, the most comprehensive exhibition ever mounted on this fascinating subject, opens at the Houston Museum of Natural Science May 8, 2009.
The Nature of Diamonds explores humanity’s fascination with diamonds and provides an in-depth look at diamonds as a natural substance—from its geological origins, place in history, art, adornment, and literature, to its numerous uses in modern technology and research.
“Understanding the nature of diamonds and appreciating the science behind what makes these dazzling crystals sparkle, makes this precious gem even more magnificent to behold,” said Joel A. Bartsch, president of the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
The special exhibition features dozens of breathtaking gems and jewels on loan from public and private collections all over the world. Highlights of the show include a stunning, layered gold mesh necklace sprinkled with rough diamonds and cultured keshi pearls - created by noted architect Frank Gehry for Tiffany & Company; an 1855 corsage ornament studded with more than 2,000 diamonds, owned by Princess Mathilde, the niece of Napoleon Bonaparte; a Cartier flapper headband from the 1920s; the Elton John Cartier shoulder brooch; and the giant Aurora Butterfly of Peace, an artistic arrangement of 240 naturally colored diamonds, on loan from Aurora Gems, New York. Also on view are spectacular single diamonds such as the Old Stone from the Diamond Trading Center and the Arkansas Diamond from Tiffany & Co., alongside a diverse array of other exhibits, all illuminating the many roles and qualities of diamonds.
What is a diamond?
A crystalline form of carbon, diamond is one of the world’s most precious mineral resources. It is the hardest of all substances, ideal as an abrasive or unscratchable surface, with numerous—and ever-growing—technological uses, ranging from windows for space probes to heat spreaders in critical electronic devices. Yet diamond, whose brilliant refractivity and superb dispersion of light create flashing rainbow colors, is most renowned as a peerless, glittering gem, unparalleled in its use as adornment. This dichotomy—as a stone that is at once utilitarian and decorative—has given rise to the allusions and symbolism that create a mystical aura around this mineral.
The Nature of Diamonds is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Houston Museum of Natural Science; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; and The Field Museum, Chicago.
After visiting The Nature of Diamonds, surround yourself around a world-renowned collection of the rarest and most beautiful mineral crystals of all types in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals. This spectacular hall houses the world’s finest display-quality collection of minerals, which includes more than 750 beautifully crystallized mineral specimens. Walk-around display cases and fiber-optic lighting provide an optimum view of these dazzling treasures.
Then, experience the extraordinary—The Smith Gem Vault. The newest permanent exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Smith Gem Vault contains some of the most coveted and mesmerizing polished and cut gems and jewels ever displayed in a single exhibit. Floating lightly in space and radiating intense color, the jeweled masterpieces on display literally take your breath away. The special collection includes the world’s finest aquamarine, the largest emerald crystal ever recovered in North America and the world’s finest boulder opal in addition to dazzling examples of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, aquamarines, topaz, amethyst, alexandrite and tourmaline.
Tickets for the special exhibition are now on sale; $22 for adults; $18 for children (3 – 11), seniors (62+), and college students with a valid ID; $10 Museum members; $6 school groups; and $12 for groups of 20 or more. Tickets may be purchased online.
Image courtesy of The Houston Museum of Natural Science
Geopalooza! A Hard Rock Anthology May 23-Aug. 24, 2008 Discover the full spectrum of nature’s mineral wonders – from tiny trilobite fossils to gigantic cathedral geodes – when Geopalooza! A Hard Rock Anthology debuts, May 23, 2008 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Featuring massive geodes weighing thousands of pounds presented alongside some of the world’s most spectacular meteorites, minerals and fossils, the exhibit will be on display through Aug. 24, 2008.
“Geopalooza! A Hard Rock Anthology spotlights all manner of the Earth’s natural treasures. Walk through a room filled with rare meteorites, marvel at intricately preserved trilobites and discover some of the world’s most beautiful minerals,” said Joel A. Bartsch, president of the Houston Museum of Natural Science and curator of gems and minerals. “It’s the ultimate rock experience.”
Admire a spectacular collection of agates, lapis lazuli, malachite and jade. Stand in wonder before massive amethyst and citrine geodes taller than a person, jammed with gleaming purple and golden crystals. Admire an array of huge mineral crystals, including a gargantuan gypsum crystal from Mexico’s “Cave of Giants,” home of the largest crystals ever found. Gaze upon intricately crystallized slices of petrified wood, some more than five feet across.
Extremely interactive, the exhibit is built to draw visitors into all of the fascinating facets of mineralogy. Touch the metallic surface of a meteorite that has traveled millions of miles, from the depths of the cosmos. Select a geode, and see it cracked open as you become the first living thing to behold its contents. Pan for gold to see if you’ll hit the mother lode. Children ages 3 – 11 can put on their paleontologist hats to dig fossil replicas in the dig pit.
Marvel at an amazing collection of fossils, including huge prehistoric fish, reptiles, and trilobites with astonishingly delicate antennae, eye stocks, and other features – more bizarre than any alien from outer space. See meteorites, moon rocks, and a stunning selection of fluorescent minerals that glow in every color of the rainbow.
After visiting Geopalooza!, don’t miss the chance to explore the Museum’s world-renowned Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals, a spectacular hall that houses more than 750 beautifully crystallized, world-renowned mineral specimens.
Local funding for Geopalooza! A Hard Rock Anthology is provided by Spectra Energy and Weatherford International Ltd.
Tickets for the special exhibition are $15 for adults; $10 for children (3 – 11), seniors (62+), and college students with a valid ID; $7 Museum members; $3 school groups; and $8 for groups of 20 or more, and include admission to the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals. For tickets, or more information, visit www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.
Image courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Pink Ladies and Crimson Gents May 17-Sept. 1, 2008
One of the most beloved plants in the world, the rose is also one of the most storied flowers in history. The exhibition Pink Ladies and Crimson Gents explores this rich melding of horticulture and human culture through 40 large-scale photographs by Don Glentzer. Drawn from the new book of the same name, the exhibition debuts at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on May 17, 2008.
Roses have been cultivated for thousands of years, but the practice of naming them for people did not begin in earnest until the 19th century. The exhibition pays homage to old-fashioned roses that, through their names, today bring an evocative sense of history, humanity and gentility to the garden. The images are divided into five groups: there are roses commemorating artists, heroes and heroines, nobility, plant world personalities and fictional characters.
Don Glentzer’s photographs, so lush you can practically smell the flowers, are modern interpretations of classical botanical illustrations. Unlike those scientific renderings, however, which were created largely as plant identifications, Glentzer composes his images with an eye toward bringing his subjects to life -- as if they were aristocrats sitting for portraits.
The exhibition’s text is adapted from the book Pink Ladies and Crimson Gents: Portraits and Legends of 50 Roses (Clarkson/Potter, Publishers; $22.95; Hardcover), written by Molly Glentzer. The exhibition will be on display through Sept. 1, 2008.
Tickets for the exhibition are included in general admission to the Museum: $10 for adults; $7 for children (3 – 11), seniors (62+), and college students with a valid ID; free for Museum members; $2.50 school groups; and $4.50 for groups of 20 or more. For tickets, or more information, visit www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.
This close-up of the Leonardo fossil shows preserved skin stretched over his rib cage. At the top of this image, a wound can be seen in Leonardo’s side, where the skin has been ripped away, possibly by a predator. Photo by Grant Delin.
The fossil block, weighing 6.5 tons, reveals secrets that would not be evident from bones alone. For example, note the pouch under the throat – it may be a crop, to store food – a feature that also exists in modern birds. Photo by Grant Delin.
Leonardo calls to his mother, left. The foliage in this image – conifers in the background, ferns in the foreground – represents the types of plants found in Leonardo’s stomach. In the background, a tyrannosaur lunges at another Brachylophosaurus. Mural by Julius Csotonyi.
Due to super-sized large intestines needed to digest pine needles, Brachylophosaurus had to walk by rolling from side to side. Illustration by Michael Berglund.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science, in association with the Judith River Foundation, will develop and tour a world premiere exhibition featuring Leonardo, the most perfectly fossilized plant-eating dinosaur ever discovered—with almost all of his skin still intact. Dinosaur Mummy CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation opens Sept. 19, 2008.
“Leonardo’s discovery was groundbreaking for the world of paleontology because it provided extensive detail regarding what plant-eating dinosaurs actually ate – details that could only be theorized before,” said Joel A. Bartsch, president of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. “We’re thrilled to present Leonardo to the public for the first time at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where they can get up close and personal with the real Leonardo, the best preserved, plant-eating dinosaur mummy fossil ever discovered.”
Following its premiere in Houston, the exhibition will tour nationally, with a replica of Leonardo; the real Leonardo will only be on display in Houston. The tour schedule will be announced at a later date.
Who is Leonardo? Leonardo is a 77 million-year-old adult duckbilled dinosaur, known scientifically as Brachylophosaurus canadensis. His remains are 90 percent covered with fossilized skin, on which the pattern of his body scales are evident. The term “mummy” is used in reference to Leonardo to denote the fact that much of the dinosaur’s soft tissue, such as its skin and internal organs, appear to have been fossilized as well, along with the bones.
What makes Leonardo even more extraordinary is that he has given scientists a rare peek “inside” a dinosaur. With modern technology, scientists have analyzed Leonardo using a forensic approach to studying this fossil—and the site where it was found—to determine how he may have lived and died. Using this method, the dinosaur is the “victim,” and the scientist has to figure out how it was killed, and by whom. Additional discoveries, such as stomach contents, provide a more complete picture of the ecosystem in which the dinosaur lived – as indicated by the type of plants it ate.
Using this method, evidence of what dinosaurs looked like, what they ate, their muscle mass, limb movement, and more, has been discovered through collaboration between the NDT Group, Carestream Health’s Kodak Non-Destructive Testing team and ConAm of Houston’s analysis of the specimen. Before this extreme digital technology was applied to this astonishing specimen, paleontologists could only guess at the true structure and function of a dinosaur of this magnitude.
Along with this premiere exhibition, new research is being done to further explore this amazing fossilized dinosaur. Prior to the fossil’s arrival at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, a special team comprised of some of the top paleontology researchers in the world conducted an intensive radiological scanning of Leonardo at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field facility. The data is currently being compiled and analyzed, and will be released at a later date.
“Meeting Leonardo is a very moving, intimate experience,” said Dr. Robert T. Bakker, famed paleontologist and curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Dr. Bakker was one of the first scientists to work on Leonardo, beginning in 2002. “Visitors will see every wrinkle and scale popping in the light, and then discover the internal organs of a creature that’s been dead for millions of years. They will leave convinced that these animals were very much alive.”
Discovered by members of an exploration team in the summer of 2000 during the Judith River Foundation’s Expedition on a cattle ranch north of Malta, Montana, Leonardo was named after graffiti found on a nearby rock that read: “Leonard Webb loves Geneva Jordan 1916.”
The Exhibition In addition to Leonardo, the exhibition will feature several other real specimens including another duckbill named Peanut—a teenager that will illustrate their species’ body structure; an Ichthyosaur mummy, which has contents of her intestines and four babies preserved inside her body; and the only mummified Triceratops skin ever found, which will also be on display for the first time.
Throughout the exhibition, explore the history of the discovery of some of the world’s most unique and amazing fossils. Learn more about the fossil-hunting Sternberg family, who discovered the first examples of large mummified dinosaurs over 100 years ago, plus more.
The world premiere of Dinosaur Mummy CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2008 through Sept. 7, 2009 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
For more information on Dinosaur Mummy CSI, and for a video peek at this amazing fossil, visit; http://www.hmns.org/generic/dinosaur_mummy_press_room.asp
National funding for Dinosaur Mummy CSI: Cretaceous Science Investigation is provided by Carestream Health, ConAm, Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Company, NDT Group, Randa Trucking and Sealed Air. Local funding is provided by Spectra Energy and Weatherford International Ltd.
The Scholar´s Eye: Contemporary Ceramics from the Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection May 18-Sep. 1, 2008
In 2007, the MFAH announced the acquisition of one of the most important private collections of contemporary ceramics in the world, assembled by Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio. Clark and Del Vecchio are New York-based scholars and dealers who have been leaders in the field of contemporary ceramics for the past 25 years.
Clark and Del Vecchio´s collection includes more than 375 works from around the world, created from 1940 to the present. Asian, African, and Latin American artists are represented in the collection, but European and American artists form the core of its holdings. In-depth surveys of artists such as Marek Cecula, Ruth Duckworth, Laszlo Fekete, Ken Ferguson, Anne Kraus, Richard Notkin, Akio Takamori, Beatrice Wood, and Betty Woodman demonstrate the range of artistic expression not only within the field but also over the course of an artist´s career. Additionally, the collection contains work by artists who are known primarily for sculpture and painting but who also worked in clay: Arman, Sir Anthony Caro, Lucio Fontana, Roy Lichtenstein, and Claes Oldenburg.
The Scholar´s Eye comprises approximately 30 examples that demonstrate the breadth and depth of this outstanding collection, introducing audiences to the power and beauty of ceramic art and design. Functional vessels, abstract and sculptural forms, as well as narrative works broaden traditional ideas about ceramics as an art form. Installations, prints and drawings by many of the artists, and objects with roots in industrial design are also important subsets to this collection that showcases a range of aesthetics.
Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius March 7 – Sept. 1, 2008
Leonardo da Vinci’s brilliance lay in his ability to master different subjects and fuse them together through observation, insight and inspiration – despite little formal education. He designed machines as diverse as a helicopter, robot, submarine, underwater breathing gear and solar powered industries. Discover this extraordinary intellect in a spectacular exhibition which reveals the ingenuity and brilliance of a man ahead of his time. Journey through more than 60 custom-built wooden models of Leonardo’s most innovative designs and inventions, including a hang glider, helicopter, military tank and elegant bridge structures—many of which can be seen realized in today’s technology. These models have been produced in vivid detail from his original drawings by skilled Italian craftsmen in Florence, Italy. Numerous models will be interactive and hands-on, and guests are encouraged to engage, pull and crank for a greater understanding of their purpose and operation.
Coin of Kind Endubis, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Ibex Pot, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Lucy's Legacy, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Lucy's Legacy, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Water Vessel, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Lucy Bones on Slab, Courtesy of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia World Premiere through September 1, 2008
Discover the rich history and culture of Ethiopia, the cradle of mankind. From the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and the massive, ancient obelisks at Axum to the beautiful highlands of Gondar and the arid desert in which the famous fossil Lucy was discovered, Lucy’s Legacy tells the amazing story of Ethiopia over the past five million years. In addition to the fossil of Lucy, over 100 artifacts such as ancient manuscripts and royal artifacts from a dynasty Ethiopians believe stretches back to the son of the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba will be on display.
Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler through February 17, 2008
Timeless, elegant and distinctly original, Verdura jewelry has been coveted by royalty, Hollywood and high society for nearly 70 years. In this premiere exhibition, Verdura jewels dating from the 1930s with original design sketches are on display in The Lester and Sue Smith Gem Vault at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. More than any other designer of the twentieth century, Duke Fulco di Verdura elevated jewelry to the status of an art form, and over time, his designs have caught the eye of many of the world’s most iconic women, including Joan Crawford; Jean Howard; Princess Diana; Doris Duke; Katharine Hepburn; Lynn Wyatt; Nan Kempner and Greta Garbo. See the curb-link bracelet watch, Garbo’s favorite, Coco Chanel’s original Maltese Cross Cuffs, the Wrapped Heart Brooch, the Tragedy and Comedy Mask Brooch created for Clare Luce Boothe and Verdura’s famous shell brooch, all on public display for the very first time.
Design Life Now: National Design Triennial
January 26 – April 20, 2008
Design Life Now: National Design Triennial will present the experimental projects, emerging
ideas, major buildings, new products and media that were at the center of contemporary culture
from 2003 to 2006. Inaugurated in 2000, the Triennial seeks out and presents the most innovative
American designs from the prior three years in a variety of fields, including product design,
architecture, furniture, film, graphics, new technologies, animation, science, medicine and
fashion.
Design Life Now: National Design Triennial will focus on four principal ideas that characterized
elements of the design world during the last three years: emulating life; community; hand-crafted
and do-it-yourself design; and transformation. On view throughout the exhibition will be the work
of 87 designers and firms, ranging from established design leaders such as Apple, architect
Santiago Calatrava, and Nike, Inc., to emerging designers like Joshua Davis, Jason Miller, and
David Wiseman.
The National Design Triennial is organized by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum,
Smithsonian Institution, and curated by Barbara Bloemink, Ellen Lupton and Matilda McQuaid,
along with guest curator Brooke Hodge of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Designed Eliel Saarinen, Manufactured by Reed & Barton, American established 1840, One from a Pair of Candleabras,
c. 1930, 2004.1619.1, The American Institute of Architects Houston
Design Collection; gift of Margo Grant Walsh in honor of
Gensler/Houston and Houston´s architectural and design community.
Designed by Architects: Metalwork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection On view March 15 - August 3, 2008
This exhibition presents approximately 50 works
designed by some of the leading architects of the late nineteenth to
mid-twentieth centuries. The vessels, mantle clocks, flatware, tea and
coffee services and other forms exhibited demonstrate the various
international stylistic influences during the period.
Margo Grant Walsh´s collection highlights the connections between
architecture and the object. Architects featured in the exhibition
include Charles Robert Ashbee, Josef Hoffmann, Gio Ponti, William
Spratling, and Henri van de Velde, among others.
Margo Grant Walsh is an internationally prominent interior architect. She began her career with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in San Francisco in 1960. Grant Walsh joined Gensler and Associate/Architects as interior design director in Houston, in 1973, and then moved to the firm´s New York office in 1979. While in New York and serving as the managing principal of Gensler´s eastern division region, she helped an important Wall Street client design his office. He asked her team to design a pedestal and Plexiglas cover for displaying a piece of silver, by the colonial American master Myer Myers, from his personal collection. She became intrigued, and the rest is history.
During the next twenty years of her professional career, Grant Walsh took advantage of every rare day off to nurture her growing love for silver and fine metalwork. On business trips to London, which averaged eight times a year for ten years strong, she sought out antiques dealers, aiming to enhance her knowledge of twentieth-century works.
In the process, she began to build what is now a global collection of more than 800 exquisitely designed, functional, and impeccably well-crafted pieces. The collection comprises works by artists from seventeen countries.
Grant Walsh first became interested in copper, white metal, mixed metals, and jewelry during the late 1980s. Many of the pieces that she acquired were unmarked, and she was intent on tracing their makers and origins.
By the early 1990s, she had shifted her gaze from an exclusive focus on English and American arts and crafts works to a more international perspective. She began to acquire Mexican, Scandinavian, and Italian pieces of the mid-twentieth century and later.
Margo Grant Walsh has an enduring passion for what she considers to be the "marvelous medium of metals." She also believes that great design is a universal language.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is pleased to collaborate with Grant Walsh on the first publication to document her superb collection. The MFAH will publish Collecting by Design: Silver and Metalwork of the Twentieth Century from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection, in February 2008. This richly illustrated book will serve as an introduction to her collection as well as a companion to this exhibition.
Walter Anderson, Chesty Horse Figure, molded and glazed ceramic
Shearwater Pottery: Three Generations of Southern Masters from the Hogan Collection
May 4 - July 13, 2008
In 1928, Shearwater Pottery was established on the Anderson family
property in Ocean Springs, MS. Brothers Peter Walter and Jim Anderson
formed the business, designing figurines, carving intricate outlines on
pots and painting colorful patterns on plates. Today Peter’s children
continue the legacy of Shearwater Pottery.
The exhibition includes 86 works by Peter and Jim Anderson decorated by
Walter Anderson, Patricia Findeisen and Christopher Stebly, from the
collection of Christopher & Kristen Hogan. Organized by the Walter
Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS.
Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection
On view through January 27, 2008
In 2002, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, acquired the Helen Williams Drutt Collection of contemporary
jewelry. Comprised of 720 pieces of jewelry dating from 1963 to the present, the collection provides a global look at the field. Over 175 artists from 18 different countries are represented in the holdings.
Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection fully explores the impact of contemporary jewelry as a global art form. The goal of the exhibition is to broaden the understanding of
contemporary jewelry through a multilayered, critical assessment of the history, issues, and most importantly, the jewelry itself. Placed in context with seminal movements in the non-craft art world, the exhibition encourages the appreciation of contemporary jewelry beyond its traditional boundaries without ignoring its roots. Approximately 300 objects, including about 275 pieces of jewelry, 20 drawings and watercolors, and 3 constructions and sculptures are included in the exhibition.
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