Attempting to define design in America today is 'a massive undertaking,' admits R & Company co-founder Evan Snyderman. But that’s exactly what the New York gallery has set out to do with its latest show, Objects: USA, which opens at the Tribeca space on September 6, 2024. This major survey of American object-making includes more than 100 works by 55 artists, designers and studios, and aims to contextualise the ever-blurred boundaries of art, design and craft at a time when the hierarchies between these disciplines are breaking down, and collectible design is becoming more desirable to wider audiences.
The exhibition concept is based on a major showcase that took place at the American Craft Museum (now MAD) in 1969 and brought together over 300 artists, launching the careers of many talents known today. R & Company revived the idea in 2020 for the 50th anniversary, working with co-curators Glenn Adamson and Abby Bangser, and then decided to turn into a triennial series spotlighting the country’s most innovative and boundary-pushing makers. 'We wanted Objects USA to not just live on as this historical show, but to re-emerge as a cutting edge contemporary design survey, with the idea that we would invite different curators for each iteration of this show to move it forward,' Snyderman tells Wallpaper*. 'It's about the big picture, and how we can create a wider conversation around design and what's happening in our field.'
