As concerned about aesthetics as the design world can (and ought) be, beauty, as a subject unto itself, tends to get short shrift. With its new exhibtion, ‘Beauty – Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial’, New York’s Cooper Hewitt Museum is taking a stab at defining the concept.
To do this, curators Andrea Lipps and Ellen Lupton pulled together more than 260 works, created by a roster of 63 designers. They grouped these into seven themes: Extravagant, Intricate, Ethereal, Transgressive, Emergent, Elemental, and Transformative. Each is meant to present a different dimension of beauty.
On view until 21 August, the exhibition occupies two full floors of the recently renovated museum. In many ways, it’s an exercise in difference – ranging from the restraint of Industrial Facility’s office supplies or Daniel Rybakken’s glassworks and the expressiveness of the Haas Brothers, for example. A catalogue, Beauty, also compiles everything into a single volume.
The exhibition, designed by New York architecture firm Tsao & McKown, was itself a design challenge. Unlike other shows, which often feature serial elements of similar scale and media, ‘Beauty’ needed to accommodate a wide range of works, from Jenny Sabin’s architectural installation to Noa Zilberman’s finely wrought, face-worn jewellery. ‘We wanted to make sure the exhibition design was not about yet another thing to look at,’ Tsao explains. ‘We let it fade into the background so the viewer could focus on every piece.’
The show cuts across myriad disciplines, from fashion, graphics, product design, architecture and beyond. A mixed bag (intentionally so), there should be something for everyone. As Tsao puts it, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.
Curated by Andrea Lipps and Ellen Lupton, the exhibition pulls together more than 260 works by 63 designers, including an architectural installation by the Philadelphia-based Jenny Sabin (pictured)
The show explores beauty in seven delineated themes: Extravagant, Intricate, Ethereal, Transgressive, Emergent, Elemental and Transformative
Occupying two full floors of the recently renovated museum, the exhibition has been designed by the New York architecture firm Tsao & McKown
'We wanted to make sure the exhibition design was not about yet another thing to look at,’ Tsao explains. ‘We let it fade into the background so the viewer could focus on every piece’
The show cuts across a range of disciplines, presenting work from fashion, graphics, products, architecture and jewellery
In many ways, it’s an exercise in difference – which ranges from the ornamentality of Tuomas Markunpoika’s ’Engineering Temporality’ cabinet (centre) to Maiko Takeda’s intricate headpieces (right)
INFORMATION
’Beauty: Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial’ is on view until 21 August. For more information, visit the Cooper Hewitt’s website
Photography: Matt Flynn. Courtesy the Cooper Hewitt
ADDRESS
Cooper Hewitt
2 East 91 Street
New York, NY 10128
-
Hella Jongerius’ ‘Angry Animals’ take a humorous and poignant bite out of the climate crisisAt Salon 94 in New York, Hella Jongerius presents animal ceramics, ‘Bead Tables’ and experimental ‘Textile Studies’ – three series that challenge traditional ideas about function, craft, and narrative
-
A photographic study of a family hi-fi store is a vivid portrait of a small businessFashion photographer Nik Hartley looked behind the scenes at Wilkinson’s Hi-Fi, a longstanding part of its Lancashire community.
-
The Contestant: inside the dark and exploitative beginnings of reality TVClair Titley’s The Contestant examines a sensationalist moment in TV history, before Big Brother meant reality became an accepted part of popular culture
-
Nendo’s collaborations with Kyoto artisans go on view in New York‘Nendo sees Kyoto’ is on view at Friedman Benda (until 15 October 2022), showcasing the design studio's collaboration with six artisans specialised in ancient Japanese crafts
-
Italian craftsmanship comes to Los Angeles in this eclectic Venice Canals apartmentBoffi Los Angeles celebrates a juxtaposition of texture throughout a waterside bolthole
-
Design Miami/Basel 2022 explores the Golden AgeDesign Miami/Basel 2022, led by curatorial director Maria Cristina Didero, offers a positive spin after the unprecedented times of the pandemic, and looks at the history and spirit of design
-
Kvadrat’s flagship New York showrooms encompass colourful design codesIndustrial designer Jonathan Olivares and architect Vincent Van Duysen have worked with Danish textile brand Kvadrat on the vast new space, also featuring furniture by Moroso
-
What to see at New York Design Week 2022Discover Wallpaper’s highlights from New York Design Week 2022 (10 – 20 May 2022): the fairs, exhibitions and design openings to discover
-
Colour defines LA ceramics studio and showroom of Bari ZipersteinStep inside the multifunctional ceramics studio, office and showroom of designer and artist Bari Ziperstein, designed by local firm Foss Hildreth
-
Design for Ukraine: Bocci and Design Miami join forces to raise fundsThe online sale of iconic Bocci pieces will benefit GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, providing urgently needed humanitarian aid
-
Designer Marcin Rusak rallies international creatives to raise funds for UkraineRaising funds for Poland’s Fundacja Ocalenie, Warsaw-based designer Marcin Rusak is making the most of Instagram’s immediacy, auctioning original pieces donated by international designers
