Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 exhibition at MoMA New York

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA

An exhibition about how women shaped twentieth-century design is on show at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 showcases objects drawn entirely from MoMA's own collection and highlights women's role as designers, patrons, muses and educators.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Table with Wheels (model 2652) by Gae Aulenti, 1980. Image is copyright Sergio Asti_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_4 — Table with Wheels (model 2652) by Gae Aulenti, 1980. Image is copyright Sergio Asti.

Pieces on show include a newly conserved kitchen designed by Charlotte Perriand with Le Corbusier in 1952 for the Unité d’Habitation housing project in Marseille.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Queen Anne Side Chair by Robert Venturi with Denise Scott Brown, 1983_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_20 — Queen Anne Side Chair by Robert Venturi with Denise Scott Brown, 1983

There's also work by Irish Modernist designer Eileen Gray, German Bauhaus designer Marianne Brandt and Italian architect Gae Aulenti.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Flatware by Karin Schou Andersen, 1979_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_3 — Flatware by Karin Schou Andersen, 1979

Famous design couples are highlighted too, with work by Ray Eames and her husband Charles, and Denise Scott Brown with Robert Venturi.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Adjustable table by Eileen Gray, 1927_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_22 — Adjustable table by Eileen Gray, 1927

The exhibition continues in the Architecture and Design Gallery of the museum until 1 October 2014.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Screen by Eileen Gray, 1922_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_21 — Screen by Eileen Gray, 1922

Here's some more information from MoMA:

Modern design of the 20th century was profoundly shaped and enhanced by the creativity of women—as muses of modernity and shapers of new ways of living, and as designers, patrons, performers and educators.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Lounge Chair by Grete Jalk 1963_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_25 — Lounge Chair by Grete Jalk 1963

This installation, drawn entirely from MoMA’s collection, celebrates the diversity and vitality of individual artists’ engagement in the modern world, from Loïe Fuller’s pulsating turn-of-the-century performances to April Greiman’s 1980s computer-generated graphics, at the vanguard of early digital design. Highlights include the first display of a newly conserved kitchen by Charlotte Perriand with Le Corbusier (1952) from the Unité d’Habitation housing project, furniture and designs by Lilly Reich, Eileen Gray, Eva Zeisel, Ray Eames, Lella Vignelli, and Denise Scott Brown; textiles by Anni Albers and Eszter Haraszty; ceramics by Lucy Rie; a display of 1960s psychedelic concert posters by graphic designer Bonnie Maclean, and a never-before-seen selection of posters and graphic material from the punk era.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Exposição da Agricultura Paulista (Exhibition on agriculture in the state of São Paulo) by Lina Bo Bardi, 1951_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_26 — Exposição da Agricultura Paulista (Exhibition on agriculture in the state of São Paulo) by Lina Bo Bardi, 1951

The gallery’s ‘graphics corner’ first explores the changing role and visual imagery of The New Woman through a selection of posters created between 1890 and 1938; in April 2014 the focus will shift to Women at War, an examination of the iconography and varied roles of women in times of conflict, commemorating the centennial of the outbreak of World War I.

Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at MoMA Die Praktische Küche (The practical kitchen) by Helene Haasbauer-Wallrath, 1930_Designing Modern Women at MoMA_dezeen_15 — Die Praktische Küche (The practical kitchen) by Helene Haasbauer-Wallrath, 1930

Organized by Juliet Kinchin, Curator, and Luke Baker, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design

Architecture and Design Collection Exhibitions are made possible by Hyundai Card.

Additional support for Designing Modern Women, 1890–1990 is provided by The Modern Women’s Fund.

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