Press Room

Information is subject to change. Please contact the MAD press office at 212.299.7713 for more information.

New York, NY (December 12, 2009)

Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey
January 26 – May 2, 2010
The first major retrospective of Viola Frey’s work since her death in 2004, Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey will feature the artist’s colossal clay figures, sculptures, ceramic plates as well as a selection of her paintings and works on paper. The installation at MAD, coordinated by curator Lowery Stokes Sims, will also include works from the museum’s permanent collection and several private collections, examples of Frey’s collaboration with ceramicist Betty Woodman, and a selection of popular ceramics from Frey’s personal collection which served as inspiration for her “bricolage” sculptures, lent by the Artists Legacy Foundation. Organized by Assistant Curator Elizabeth Edwards Kirrane, MAD will also present an installation of works from its permanent collection by Californian ceramicist artists, contemporaries of Frey, including Robert Arneson, Katherine Choy, David Gilhooly, Richard Shaw, Peter Voulkos, and Betty Woodman. January 26 – May 2, 2010The first major retrospective of Viola Frey’s work since her death in 2004, will feature the artist’s colossal clay figures, sculptures, ceramic plates as well as a selection of her paintings and works on paper. The installation at MAD, coordinated by curator Lowery Stokes Sims, will also include works from the museum’s permanent collection and several private collections, examples of Frey’s collaboration with ceramicist Betty Woodman, and a selection of popular ceramics from Frey’s personal collection which served as inspiration for her “bricolage” sculptures, lent by the Artists Legacy Foundation. Organized by Assistant Curator Elizabeth Edwards Kirrane, MAD will also present an installation of works from its permanent collection by Californian ceramicist artists, contemporaries of Frey, including Robert Arneson, Katherine Choy, David Gilhooly, Richard Shaw, Peter Voulkos, and Betty Woodman.

Bigger, Better, More: The Art of Viola Frey is co-organized by the Gardiner Museum, Toronto, and the Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin.

Silver Jewelry from the Nadler Collection
16 February – 8 August 2010
Over the course of three decades, collectors Daniel and Serga Nadler have assembled a unique collection of silver jewelry from across the world. This special exhibition focuses on three regions from their collection, presenting approximately 150 works, including in-depth selections of jewelry from Northern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, and the Hill Tribes of Southeast Asia.

Dead or Alive
April 27 – October 24, 2010
Dead or Alive will present the work of approximately 30 contemporary artist who use organic materials and objects that were once living—insects, feathers, shells, bones, plant materials, and fur—to create beautiful crafted and intricately designed installations and sculptures. In the hands of these artists, what is dead is “brought back to life” as a work of art; these lifeless and mute materials, often with profound and provocative associations, are transformed and resuscitated. Featured artists include Jennifer Angus, Nick Cave, Damien Hirst, Jochem Hendricks, Tessa Farmer, or Susie MacMurray and others.

Dead or Alive follows upon the Museum’s inaugural exhibition Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, which featured contemporary works created exclusively from ordinary manufactured items. The exhibition is organized by Chief Curator David McFadden and Curator Lowery Sims, curator, with Assistant Curator Elizabeth Edwards Kirrane.

Bespoke: The Art of Handmade Bicycles
Opens May 12, 2010 – tbd.
Guest-curated by Michael Maharam, co-owner of the much acclaimed New York textile house Maharam, Bespoke: The Art of Handmade Bicycles, opens on May 12, 2010. More information to follow.

Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2010
September 14 – October 10, 2010
The Museum will host the Abraaj Capital Art Prize and present an exhibition of its 2010 prize winners: artist Hala Elkoussy, from Egypt and Jelle Bouwhuis, curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; artist Marwan Sahmarani from Lebanon and Lebanese-Spanish curator Mahita El Bacha Urieta; and Algerian artist Abdel Kader Attia and curator Laurie Ann Farrell, Executive Director of Exhibitions for the Savannah College of Art and Design in the United States.

Established in 2008 by the Dubai-based private equity company Abraaj Capital, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize recognizes contemporary work created by artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA region). The winners were chosen from ninety-seven applications selected by an international jury including the Museum’s curator Lowery Stokes Sims.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is made possible through the support of Abraaj Capital.

The Global Africa Project
November 16, 2010 – April 3, 2011
The Global Africa Project showcases the rich pool of artistic and design talent that is emerging from the African continent and from Africans working in countries across the globe. Curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, the exhibition challenges presumptions of what constitutes an “African” style or aesthetic and demonstrates the power and expressive potential of materials, textures and forms. Presenting work by designers, craftsmen and artists working both in traditional or contemporary modes in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and the Caribbean, the exhibition confronts the traditional distinction made between “professional” and “artisan” in the art market. The show highlights economic and social issues navigated by these artists as they negotiate their careers both “in-country” and outside mainstream center and on in the global arena, and illuminates how these creators are able to engage the contemporary art market in inventive and provocative ways.

The Global Africa Project is organized by the Museum of Arts and Design and the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection
On view until January 31, 2010
Read My Pins presents a selection of over 200 pins from the former Secretary of State’s personal collection in correlation with the publication of her book of the same name. While serving under President Clinton, Secretary Albright became known for selecting pins or brooches that conveyed her views as appropriate to the specific occasion. This unusual diplomatic strategy evolved from the time when, having been referred to as serpent by Saddam Hussein’s press, she pinned a snake on her suit for her next meeting on Iraq. Over the years, her pins became a part of her public persona. Many of these involve fascinating and humorous stories that in time chart the course of an extraordinary journey, and carve out a visual path through international and cultural diplomacy.

Read My Pins, is shown in the museum’s Tiffany & Co. Gallery, dedicated to the presentation of jewelry. The lively exhibition highlights the expressive nature of jewelry and its ability to communicate through a style and language of its own. Whether the arena is world politics, a corporate board room, a social gathering, or a more intimate setting, jewelry can be an important part of what we convey to others, and of how we think about ourselves.

The exhibition is generously supported by Bren Simon.

Slash: Paper Under the Knife
On view until April 4, 2010
Slash: Paper Under the Knife takes the pulse of the international art world’s renewed interest in paper as a creative medium and source of artistic inspiration, examining the remarkably diverse use of paper in a range of art forms. The exhibition surveys unusual paper treatments, including works that are burned, torn, cut by lasers, and shredded. A section of the exhibition focuses on artists who modify books to transform them into sculpture, while another will highlight the use of cut paper for film and video animations.

Slash is the third exhibition in MAD’s Materials and Process series, which examines the renaissance of traditional handcraft materials and techniques in contemporary art and design.

Selected artists were commissioned to create site-specific or site-referential works, and others were invited to create work onsite in MAD’s three artist studios to be installed in the exhibition.

Slash: Paper under the Knife is made possible by Kate’s Paperie. Generous additional support is provided by the Angelica Berrie Foundation.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam. Additional support is provided by the Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel and the Dutch Consulate General.

Ghost Stories, New Designs from Nendo
On view until January 10, 2010
The newest projects and prototypes from the renowned design studio Nendo are shown for the first time at the Museum of Arts and Design. On view until January 10, 2010, Ghost Stories, New Designs from Nendo has transformed the MADProjects Gallery on the Museum’s second floor into a magical landscape of new designs that imbue chairs, vases, and lamps with whimsy and optical illusion. Founded and led by Oki Sato, Nendo has garnered international attention and more than 45 design awards for its beautifully simple yet surprisingly humorous work in interiors, furniture, product design, graphics and architecture.

The Nendo installation is the second exhibition in the MADProjects Gallery, which was launched in February 2009 with Totally Rad, a focused survey of the latest radiator designs, curated by Karim Rashid. Both timely and provocative, this ongoing program invites curators, collaborators and leading voices in the field to explore emerging trends and innovations in design.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN

The Museum of Arts and Design explores how craftsmanship, art, and design intersect in the visual arts today. The Museum focuses on contemporary creativity and the ways in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through processes ranging from the handmade to cutting edge technologies.

The Museum’s exhibition program explores and illuminates issues and ideas, highlights creativity and craftsmanship, and celebrates the limitless potential of materials and techniques when used by creative and innovative artists. MAD’s permanent collection is global in scope and focuses on art, craft, and design from 1950 to the present day.

At the center of the Museum’s mission is education. The Museum’s dynamic new facility features classrooms and studios for master classes, seminars, and workshops for students, families and adults. Three open artist studios engage visitors in the creative processes of artists at work and enhance the exhibition programs. Lectures, films, performances and symposia related to the Museum’s collection and topical subjects affecting the world of contemporary art, craft and design are held in a renovated 150-seat auditorium.