The preview celebration of the twenty-second annual Modernism: A Century of Style and Design, the fine and decorative arts exposition produced by Sanford L. Smith & Associates, will take place Thursday, November 15, 2007, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Collectors, connoisseurs, and celebrities will be among the first to consider the offerings of sixty leading international dealers specializing in fine European and American twentieth-century design movements including Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Wiener Werkstätte, and Memphis-Milano. Scandinavian prototypes and pieces by mid-century modern masters will also be presented. The preview of Modernism will be preceded by an awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. honoring furniture artist Wendell Castle, who will receive the Brooklyn Museum/Modernism Lifetime Achievement Award. Pottery maker Jonathan Adler is slated to receive the Brooklyn Museum/Modernism Young Designer Award.
Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman will present the awards. Wendell Castle, who is often credited with being the father of the art furniture movement, was born in Kansas and received a B.F.A. from the University of Kansas in Industrial Design in 1958 and an M.F.A. in sculpture in 1961. His timeless, unique creations rendered in wood, fiberglass, and bronze with cutting-edge finishes challenge the traditional concepts of furniture design, elevating his pieces to the level of fine art and blurring the boundaries between function and sculpture. His work, known for its wry yet whimsical sense of humor, has evolved from utilitarian and sculpted furniture, to objects that recall art movements throughout the ages.
Born and raised in a farm town in New Jersey, Jonathan Adler discovered his passion for creating pottery while attending summer camp in 1978. After studying at Brown University and a brief career as a talent agent in the early 1990s, Adler began making pots full-time. In 1994, Barneys, New York, began carrying his creations, which are known for their modern shapes, vibrant colors, and organic eye-popping patterns. Adler's pottery business has grown into a thriving interior design business responsible for the redesign of the Parker Palm Springs Hotel and seven retail outlets in New York, Los Angeles, East Hampton, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago that feature bedding, bath accessories, stationery, dinnerware, table linens, and framing.
His "happy, handcrafted, and luxe" designs for the home have become a part of American 200 Eastern Parkway, appearing on the sets of the "Today Show," "Sex and the City," "Will & Grace," and "The Apprentice." Currently Mr. Adler is the lead judge on the television show "Top Design." Following the Modernism preview, several Museum trustees and special friends of the Museum will host small private dinners in their homes. Invitations to these exclusive dinners are available to upper-level ticket holders. -- www.bletchleypark.org.uk
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