Indianapolis Museum of Art Announces Major Design Initiatives

INDIANAPOLIS, IN.- The Indianapolis Museum of Art today announced several major design initiatives, including: The acquisition of 37 new works, 19 of which come from the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection in Montreal. Liliane Stewart, with her late husband David, amassed one of the most important international twentieth and twenty-first-century design collections in North America. The creation of the IMA Design Center, a retail space opening in November 2008 which will offer contemporary, sustainable design products for sale. The organization of the exhibition European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century, which will debut at the Museum on March 8, 2009. The exhibition will be the first comprehensive survey of contemporary Western European Design from 1985-2005.

In October 2007, R. Craig Miller joined the IMA as Curator of Design Arts and Director of Design Initiatives, following 17 years as Curator of the Department of Architecture, Design & Graphics at the Denver Art Museum. Miller’s appointment and the creation of the Design Arts Department were part of a renewed focus on design at the IMA. Since he arrived, Miller has actively pursued acquisitions for the IMA’s design collection.

“In a few short months, we have acquired a number of spectacular works, thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Stewart and her foundation,” said Maxwell L. Anderson, the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “Under Craig’s leadership, we are building a compelling and fully-rounded department of twentieth and twenty-first- century design and implementing a number of initiatives, including the Design Center, to bring intelligent and sustainable design to our audiences.”

New Acquisitions - The IMA recently received a gift of 19 objects from the collection of Liliane Stewart, who, with her late husband David, founded the Museum of Decorative Arts in Montreal. Mrs. Stewart and her husband amassed one of the most important international twentieth and twenty-first-century design collections in North America. She has long been a benefactor of museums in the United States and Canada. Acquisition highlights include:

• Clifford B. Stevens & Edward P. Schreyer, Iron Petit Point Traveling Iron (1941). Manufactured by Waverly Tool Co., Sandusky, Ohio;
• Ettore Sottsass, Teadora Armchair (1986-87). Manufactured by Vitra, Basel, Switzerland;
• Alessandro Mendini, Alchemilla Vase (1993). Manufactured by Design Gallery Milan, Italy;
• Philippe Starck, Ara Lamps (1988). Manufactured by Flos, Brescia, Italy.

The works from Mrs. Stewart will be among the first objects to enter the Museum’s collection since the Design Arts Department was created in October 2007. In addition to these gifts, the IMA recently purchased a number of objects to further enhance the Museum’s design holdings, including:

• Eliel Saarinen, Sideboard (1929). The sideboard was first exhibited in a dining room designed by Saarinen for a major exhibition, The Architect and the Industrial Arts, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art;
• Frank Gehry, Bubbles Chaise Longue (1986) from the Experimental Edges Series. Manufactured by New City Editions, Venice, California;
• Maarten van Severen, CK94 Copyright Bookcase (1994). Manufactured by Maarten van Severen Meubelen, Ghent, Belgium;
• Shiro Kuramata, Three-legged Side Chair (1983). Manufactured by Ishimaru Co., Ltd, Japan;
• Alessandro Mendini and Alessandro Guerriero, Side Chair (1988) from the Ollo Collection. Manufactured by Consorzio Esposizione Mobili for Studio Alchymia, Milan, Italy.

The Museum will debut many of its new design acquisitions in late fall 2008. The objects will be on view in the Lori Efroymson Aguilera & Sergio Aguilera Gallery on the Museum’s third gallery level, which is principally devoted to showing art from the post-World War II era.

IMA Design Center - In addition to building a design collection, the Museum will open the IMA Design Center in November 2008, which will provide sustainable and intelligent design solutions for everyday life. The Center will complement IMA exhibitions and offer contemporary design products that otherwise are not widely available in Indiana or the United States. Though it will feature mid-century classic pieces by Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and others, the Design Center also will highlight more recent pieces by designers working today including Ron Arad, Jurgen Bey, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, and Philippe Starck, as well as a younger generation including Maarten Baas, Tord Boontje, Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec, and Konstantin Grcic. In addition, the Design Center will feature products from major manufacturers such as Alessi, Cappellini, Droog, Kartell, Magis, Moooi and others.

The Design Center will serve as a retail space where customers will be able to purchase items such as textiles, furniture, tableware and toys, as well as place orders for custom merchandise. For architects and designers, the Design Center will be a resource for the selection of fabrics, finishes and other special orders. In addition to the Design Center, the IMA’s other retail initiatives include the IMA Store, which carries books, jewelry, art supplies, educational products, and other merchandise, and the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse which offers plants and garden supplies.