Material ConneXion® Presents First Retrospective of
Seminal Designer Neal Small, April 1 - June 12, 2009
Exhibition to mark official opening of Material ConneXion's new headquarters
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New York, NY, March 24, 2009 - Material ConneXion, the leading global platform for material innovation and solutions, will celebrate the opening of its New York City headquarters with the first retrospective of work by seminal Americal designer Neal Small. Renowned for his pioneering use of materials such as Plexiglas and Lucite to create furniture, lighting, home accessories and even sculpture, Small's work is included in such prominent collections as The Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institution, and the Walker Art Center. Featuring several important loans from private collections, this retrospective presents a rare look at Small's most iconic designs from the '60's and '70's. The exhibition will be on view at Material ConneXion's new showrook at 60 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, from April 1 - June 12, 2009.
Hailed as the "Prince of Plexiglas" by The New York Times, Neal Small can be credited with helping to ignite the craze for plastic furniture that swept the nation more than forty years ago. The self-trained designer and one-man operation, who conceived, manufacured and sold his innovative creations to high-end department and specialty stores straight from his New York City studio, was said by New York Magazine to have been responsible for "almost single-handedly supplyig the market with quantities of excellent [plastic] design."
"We are honored to inaugurate our new corproate headquarters with an exhibition of work by this influential designer," says Material ConneXion Founder & CEO George M. Beylerian. "Neal Small transformed a largely unexplored, industrial material into modern and exciting products that inspired a generation of home furnishings, and his accomplishments are a true testament to Material ConneXion's mission of advancing new design solutions through the use of innovative materials."
In an interview with Time magazine, Small likened "old-fashioned furniture" to a "dead whale in the living room," and the ethereal cocktail and end-tables featured in this exhibition, formed from single sheets of transluscent acrylic, clearly demonstrate the designer's proclivity for simple, efficient designs. Small's celebrated red acrylic Floor Lamp (1966) and white spherical Area Lamp (1968), both of which are featured in MoMA's permanent collection, are also on view, as well as a selection of rarely-seen, translucent objects and sculpture, on loan from a private collection. These discinctive and at times playful "see-through" pieces highlight Small's unusual plastic-shaping techniques, as well as his wit and ingenutity.
"For a long time, people thought acrylic plastic was only good for displays," Small told The New York Times in 1967. "But now, I think, we've gotten more adult in our design ideas...There's going to be a lot of valid design with this material." Time proved the visionary designer right, and Material ConneXion's resurgence of Neal Small's work details the historic and aesthetic importance of his imaginative and inventive designs.
For high-resolution images and more information please refer to Press Contact below.
Exhibition Hours: April 1 - June 12, Monday through Friday, 9am - 6pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 16th, 4-7pm
Special ICFF Weekend Hours: Saturday, May 16th & Sunday, May 17th, 10am - 5pm
About Neal Small:
Neal Small was born in New York City in 1937. In the mid-60's he opened Neal Small Designs on West 24th Street in Chelsea, where he manufactured and sold his innovative products to Bloomingdale's and other leading retailers of the day, including B. Altman & Co., W & J Sloan and Scarabaeus. Throughout his career, Small has received 9 awards for Excellence of Design from Industrial Design Magazine, in conjunction with The Smithsonian Institution, the Brooklyn Museum and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. His work has been exhibited and is featured in the permanent collections of many prominent institutions, including The Musuem of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Instutution, the Walker Art Center, the Albright-Knox Museum, the Brooklyn Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Small lives and works as an artist in rural Maine.
About Material ConneXion:
Material ConneXion is the leading global platform for material innovation and solutions. Built on the belief that Every Idea Has A Material Solution(TM), Material ConneXion is the trusted material advisor to Fortune 500 corporations, smaller forward-thinking companies and government agencies seeking a creative, competitive, or sustainable edge through strategic material selections. With offices in New York, Milan, Cologne, Bangkok and Daegu, Korea, Material ConneXion's international network of material specialists provide a global, cross-industry perspective on materials and their potential uses.
Press contact:
Sarah Natkins, Director of Marketing & Communications
212-842-1509 / snatkins@materialconnexion.com
Image captions (Left to Right):
"Origami" Side Table / 1960's / Plexiglas / 16 x 13 x 15in
Red Lamp / 1960's / Acrylic / 10 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 in
Floor Lamp (model 2037) / 1966 / Acrylic / 9 x 13 x 6 in
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