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Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial

From a colorful sunset to a glamorous gown, beauty is a force that we all recognize, but few can truly explain. Now, visitors to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York can explore this massive concept and its function in society through the new exhibition Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Beauty is the fifth installment of the museum’s Triennial series, which began in 2000 and examines new progress and developments in design from galleries, shops, museums, fairs, and media around the world. This newest exhibition puts the focus on aesthetic innovation, featuring over 250 recent works by 63 designers that seek to answer the question “Why Beauty Now?”

The exhibition examines beauty through the lens of seven themes: extravagant, intricate, ethereal, transgressive, emergent, elemental, and transformative. True to the vast concept the exhibition represents, there are a huge range of items on display, including makeup art by Pat McGrath, typography by Non-Format, work by scent artist Sissel Tolaas, Ana Rajcevic’s animal headpieces, a World Clock by Yeongkyu Yoo, and furniture and objects by Brynjar Sigurðarson, who borrows techniques and materials from fishermen in Iceland.

cooper hewitt beauty triennial

Industrial Facility (London, England, United Kingdom, founded 2002): Sam Hecht (British, b. 1969) and Kim Colin (American, b. 1961) for Herman Miller (Zeeland, Michigan, USA, founded 1905); Formwork series, 2014; ABS plastic with non-slip silicone base. Cooper Hewitt

Of particular note are 3-D printed wearable objects by Neri Oxman, which were designed for survival on distant planets (below). 

neri oxman beauty cooper hewitt

·         Otaared, designed by Neri Oxman in collaboration with Christoph Bader and Dominik Kolb and created for and in collaboration with Stratasys Ltd. Produced on the Objet500 Connex3 Color, Multi-material 3D Production System. Photo credit: Yoram Reshef.

Accompanying the exhibition will be events that further explore beauty and aesthetic information. On February 27, Lauren Bowker, founder of London-based fashion house TheUnseen, will lead a hands-on workshop on the idea of “Color Alchemy.” Bowker, whose designs change color when combined with outside elements like heat or wind pressure, will take participants through the chemical process behind these transformations while each participant makes their own hand-dyed, color-changing feather.

cooper hewitt beauty

Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial will be on display at the Cooper Hewitt from now through August 21. For more information about the museum, visit cooperhewitt.org.

About the Author

Alison Durkee is a New York-based arts journalist and critic with a background in theatre and dance. She currently serves as the Features Editor of London theatre website Everything Theatre and also covers news and politics for Mic.com.

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