MAD | Museum of Arts and Design

MAD | Museum of Arts and Design MAD champions artists, designers, and artisans, presenting contemporary art and design through a craft lens. The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields—presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work.
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Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and re

Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and re

Operating as usual

Happy Birthday to fiber artist Ferne Jacobs, born #otd in 1942. While Jacobs began her career as a painter, she has devo...
09/13/2021

Happy Birthday to fiber artist Ferne Jacobs, born #otd in 1942. While Jacobs began her career as a painter, she has devoted her practice to fiber art since she took a weaving workshop with artist Arline Fisch in the 1960s. The artist is best known for creating non-traditional forms that utilize ancient basket weaving techniques like knotting and twisting. The works are more aligned with abstract sculpture than traditional basket making or weaving. In 1972, MAD featured Jacobs and other innovative fiber artists like Claire Zeisler and Francois Grossen in the groundbreaking Sculpture in Fiber exhibition, highlighting structural fiberworks created off the loom.

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#FerneJacobs
Light Wave, 1989.
Linen thread, twine, wax; coiled

#MADCollection
#MADMuseum

Happy Birthday to fiber artist Ferne Jacobs, born #otd in 1942. While Jacobs began her career as a painter, she has devoted her practice to fiber art since she took a weaving workshop with artist Arline Fisch in the 1960s. The artist is best known for creating non-traditional forms that utilize ancient basket weaving techniques like knotting and twisting. The works are more aligned with abstract sculpture than traditional basket making or weaving. In 1972, MAD featured Jacobs and other innovative fiber artists like Claire Zeisler and Francois Grossen in the groundbreaking Sculpture in Fiber exhibition, highlighting structural fiberworks created off the loom.

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#FerneJacobs
Light Wave, 1989.
Linen thread, twine, wax; coiled

#MADCollection
#MADMuseum

"Part of "my" New York is now a cemetery so I've created a memorial to the thousands who perished so suddenly and, indee...
09/11/2021

"Part of "my" New York is now a cemetery so I've created a memorial to the thousands who perished so suddenly and, indeed, "from the top down." The scene consists of a newspaper ad set in a plastic frame, twisted metal at the base represents the destroyed buildings, and the small stones on the top of the gravesite a mark of remembrance."—Esther Davies, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link in the below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911
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Esther Davies
We Remember Our Dead, 2001.
Plexiglas, stones, metal, paper, adhesive.
6 x 6 x 1 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 4.1 cm).

"Part of "my" New York is now a cemetery so I've created a memorial to the thousands who perished so suddenly and, indeed, "from the top down." The scene consists of a newspaper ad set in a plastic frame, twisted metal at the base represents the destroyed buildings, and the small stones on the top of the gravesite a mark of remembrance."—Esther Davies, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link in the below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911
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Esther Davies
We Remember Our Dead, 2001.
Plexiglas, stones, metal, paper, adhesive.
6 x 6 x 1 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 4.1 cm).

"Americans have undergone great transformations since September 11. We feel more vulnerable. In the aftermath, the Presi...
09/11/2021

"Americans have undergone great transformations since September 11. We feel more vulnerable. In the aftermath, the President, Congress, the FBI, the CIA, the media, and others have been working to make us feel safe again. Attacks have been ordered on Afghanistan. The Anti-Terrorism Act has been passed. Things have happened quickly with little time for questions. This concerns and frightens me. Two documents that seem especially pertinent are the Bill of Rights (especially the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments) and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (especially Part IV, concerning what cannot be done to civilian populations during times of war). I have handwritten the words from these documents onto silk."—Laura Hunter, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911
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Laura Hunter
Amendments II, 2001.
Printed silk, organza
6 x 6 x 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm).

"Americans have undergone great transformations since September 11. We feel more vulnerable. In the aftermath, the President, Congress, the FBI, the CIA, the media, and others have been working to make us feel safe again. Attacks have been ordered on Afghanistan. The Anti-Terrorism Act has been passed. Things have happened quickly with little time for questions. This concerns and frightens me. Two documents that seem especially pertinent are the Bill of Rights (especially the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments) and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (especially Part IV, concerning what cannot be done to civilian populations during times of war). I have handwritten the words from these documents onto silk."—Laura Hunter, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911
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Laura Hunter
Amendments II, 2001.
Printed silk, organza
6 x 6 x 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm).

"I remember the morning of 9/11. I had gotten home late the previous evening from a show. I had driven 16 hours that day...
09/11/2021

"I remember the morning of 9/11. I had gotten home late the previous evening from a show. I had driven 16 hours that day. I was totally exhausted and sleeping the sleep of angels when my wife, Paige, yelled to me to come look at what was happening in New York. I slogged myself downstairs to gaze mindlessly at the TV only to be shocked fully awake by the unfolding events. Then, as always happens even when I don't wish it, an image came to mind ... effortlessly, immediately, and it sent me scurrying for my sketchpad. The towers as the number, the month, September as the pivot point and the concept of remembrance. It's a blessing and a curse, this role as the artists. Once committed it ceaselessly turns the engines of the mind to reflect the observation of the senses. I just hope that this little invention serves some good purpose."—Thomas Mann, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911

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Thomas Mann
Untitled, 2002.
Metal, paint, enamel, plastic,
6 x 6 x 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm).

"I remember the morning of 9/11. I had gotten home late the previous evening from a show. I had driven 16 hours that day. I was totally exhausted and sleeping the sleep of angels when my wife, Paige, yelled to me to come look at what was happening in New York. I slogged myself downstairs to gaze mindlessly at the TV only to be shocked fully awake by the unfolding events. Then, as always happens even when I don't wish it, an image came to mind ... effortlessly, immediately, and it sent me scurrying for my sketchpad. The towers as the number, the month, September as the pivot point and the concept of remembrance. It's a blessing and a curse, this role as the artists. Once committed it ceaselessly turns the engines of the mind to reflect the observation of the senses. I just hope that this little invention serves some good purpose."—Thomas Mann, 2002 MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

https://madmuseum.org/views/crafting-healing-remembering-911

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Thomas Mann
Untitled, 2002.
Metal, paint, enamel, plastic,
6 x 6 x 5/8 in. (15.2 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm).

As we have come to the twentieth anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are looking back on the MAD exhibition September ...
09/11/2021

As we have come to the twentieth anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are looking back on the MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond. On view a year after the attack, the exhibition presented sixty-nine compositions measuring an intimate six-by-six inches in scale. Organized by Crafts America Inc., each square was displayed with text from the contributing artist, capturing personal viewpoints of the nation’s shared catastrophic experience. Some squares recall the proliferation of patriotism in the months following the attack; others honor victims, first responders, and the vitality of New York City. All of the works included in the exhibition are currently in the MAD permanent collection. As we pause to remember today, we will share a selection of the works and the artists' original reflections in recognition of this tragic day and its aftermath.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

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Installation view of September 11: Artists Respond at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (September 11, 2002- January 5, 2003)

As we have come to the twentieth anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are looking back on the MAD exhibition September 11: Artists Respond. On view a year after the attack, the exhibition presented sixty-nine compositions measuring an intimate six-by-six inches in scale. Organized by Crafts America Inc., each square was displayed with text from the contributing artist, capturing personal viewpoints of the nation’s shared catastrophic experience. Some squares recall the proliferation of patriotism in the months following the attack; others honor victims, first responders, and the vitality of New York City. All of the works included in the exhibition are currently in the MAD permanent collection. As we pause to remember today, we will share a selection of the works and the artists' original reflections in recognition of this tragic day and its aftermath.

Tap the link below to read more artist reflections.

_________
Installation view of September 11: Artists Respond at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (September 11, 2002- January 5, 2003)

Next Thursday, September 16, from 6 – 7 pm, 2019 MAD artist-in-residence Rachel Grobstein will facilitate a one-hour wor...
09/10/2021

Next Thursday, September 16, from 6 – 7 pm, 2019 MAD artist-in-residence Rachel Grobstein will facilitate a one-hour workshop inspired by The Fisher Dollhouse: A Venetian Palazzo in Miniature. Join us and learn techniques for transforming clay and paint into miniature food, creating small-scale still lifes, and acquire the skills to continue making your tiny projects on your own!

All in-person slots are filled, but there is still space for you to join us online! Tap the link below to register.

https://madmuseum.org/events/miniature-making-rachel-grobstein

09/09/2021
Craft Front & Center: What Can You Do with a Thread?

As #NewYorkTextileMonth continues, our Chief Curator Elissa Auther poses the question, “What Can You Do with a Thread?”

Artists like Claire Zeisler, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Sheila Hicks first began exploring thread as a medium for art in the 1960s and 70s. These innovators worked with diverse forms of thread—from hand-spun wool and floss to sisal and nylon— to create an entirely new abstract language of expression. The Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now MAD) was at the forefront of showcasing this bold, new fiber-based work. Today, artists draw upon the powerful histories of thread, fiber, and textile-based techniques to create connections across time and place.
See the work of some of the most influential fiber artists of yesterday and today now on view in our current exhibition, Craft Front & Center.

Video created by Elissa Auther, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, and the William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator for the Craft Front & Center (on view May 22, 2021–February 13, 2022). Producer: Liam Harrison

Join us on October 21 as we celebrate 65 years of MAD at MAD Ball 2021! Taking place at the Museum for the very first ti...
09/08/2021

Join us on October 21 as we celebrate 65 years of MAD at MAD Ball 2021! Taking place at the Museum for the very first time, MAD Ball 2021 will honor architect and interior designer William Sofield and welcome our new Nanette L. Laitman Director Tim Rodgers. The celebration, hosted by designer and performer Machine Dazzle, will feature live musical performances, activities with our Artist Studios residents, gallery access, an online auction, and so much more!

Tap the link below to buy your tickets today!
https://madmuseum.org/support/mad-ball-2021

Join us on October 21 as we celebrate 65 years of MAD at MAD Ball 2021! Taking place at the Museum for the very first time, MAD Ball 2021 will honor architect and interior designer William Sofield and welcome our new Nanette L. Laitman Director Tim Rodgers. The celebration, hosted by designer and performer Machine Dazzle, will feature live musical performances, activities with our Artist Studios residents, gallery access, an online auction, and so much more!

Tap the link below to buy your tickets today!
https://madmuseum.org/support/mad-ball-2021

Happy unofficial start to Fall! Starting today, we're returning to our regular hours of 10 am to 6 pm, and once again wi...
09/07/2021

Happy unofficial start to Fall! Starting today, we're returning to our regular hours of 10 am to 6 pm, and once again will be open Tuesday through Sunday. We respectfully require all visitors over the age of 12 to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 to enter the building and masks need to be worn once inside.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Happy unofficial start to Fall! Starting today, we're returning to our regular hours of 10 am to 6 pm, and once again will be open Tuesday through Sunday. We respectfully require all visitors over the age of 12 to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 to enter the building and masks need to be worn once inside.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

#LaborDay. Ruth Clement Bond was a pioneer who sought to highlight the importance of Black people to the labor force and...
09/06/2021

#LaborDay. Ruth Clement Bond was a pioneer who sought to highlight the importance of Black people to the labor force and represent the progress of the post-Depression era's public infrastructure projects through quilts and community-building.

The panel, "Tennessee Valley Authority Appliqué Quilt Design of Man with Crane," depicts the work of Black men at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) through the Black silhouette of a man directing a crane, surrounded by brown forms representing the dam. A celebration of the expanded opportunities for African Americans under the New Deal, the TVA quilts honor the African American men who labored on the infrastructure project, their wives who stitched their reality into these panels, and the legacy of Black craft.

Tap the link in the bio to visit the MAD Online Learning Lab to read more from assistant curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy's piece on the importance of Ruth Clement Bond's quilt art.
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Ruth Clement Bond
Rose Marie Thomas
Tennessee Valley Authority Appliqué Quilt Design of Man with Crane, 1934.
Cotton; pieced, sewn (unquilted)

#LaborDay. Ruth Clement Bond was a pioneer who sought to highlight the importance of Black people to the labor force and represent the progress of the post-Depression era's public infrastructure projects through quilts and community-building.

The panel, "Tennessee Valley Authority Appliqué Quilt Design of Man with Crane," depicts the work of Black men at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) through the Black silhouette of a man directing a crane, surrounded by brown forms representing the dam. A celebration of the expanded opportunities for African Americans under the New Deal, the TVA quilts honor the African American men who labored on the infrastructure project, their wives who stitched their reality into these panels, and the legacy of Black craft.

Tap the link in the bio to visit the MAD Online Learning Lab to read more from assistant curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy's piece on the importance of Ruth Clement Bond's quilt art.
________

Ruth Clement Bond
Rose Marie Thomas
Tennessee Valley Authority Appliqué Quilt Design of Man with Crane, 1934.
Cotton; pieced, sewn (unquilted)

"While Moyer’s solo practice is rooted in meticulous attention to composition, and Pepe’s in history and politics, the 1...
09/05/2021

"While Moyer’s solo practice is rooted in meticulous attention to composition, and Pepe’s in history and politics, the 10 works on view made jointly and mostly while on residencies reflect the centering of experimentation and play that can happen when removed from daily responsibility and routine." - Margaret Ewing for The Brooklyn Rail

"Carrie Moyer and Shelia Pepe: Tabernacles for Trying Times" is on view through February 13.

Read more: https://brooklynrail.org/2021/09/artseen/Carrie-Moyer-and-Sheila-Pepe-Tabernacles-for-Trying-Times

"While Moyer’s solo practice is rooted in meticulous attention to composition, and Pepe’s in history and politics, the 10 works on view made jointly and mostly while on residencies reflect the centering of experimentation and play that can happen when removed from daily responsibility and routine." - Margaret Ewing for The Brooklyn Rail

"Carrie Moyer and Shelia Pepe: Tabernacles for Trying Times" is on view through February 13.

Read more: https://brooklynrail.org/2021/09/artseen/Carrie-Moyer-and-Sheila-Pepe-Tabernacles-for-Trying-Times

Happy Birthday to sculptor and ceramicist Robert Arneson, born #otd in 1930. One of the Funk Ceramics movement's leader...
09/04/2021

Happy Birthday to sculptor and ceramicist Robert Arneson, born #otd in 1930. One of the Funk Ceramics movement's leaders, Arneson brought a humorous, satirical tone to much of his work, even his signature self-portraiture. His piece Self-Portrait of the Artist Losing His Marbles was his first foray into the genre. The artist initially intended the work to be a literal representation of himself, except for the eyes. However, unsatisfied with the direction of the piece, Arneson re-glazed and fired it so many times, leading to a massive crack. At his wit's end, the artist glued marbles to the surface and gave the work a more fitting title!

See this and more from Robert Arneson in our current exhibition, Craft Front & Center. Tap the link below to book your timed tickets.

https://madmuseum.org/exhibitions
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Robert Arneson
Self-Portrait of the Artist Losing His Marbles, 1965.
Earthenware, luster glaze, marbles, pigments; hand-built

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Videos

Craft Front & Center: What Can You Do with a Thread?
Craft Front & Center: What Can You Do with a Thread?

Communal Crocheting with Sheila Pepe and Jacob Olmedo
Communal Crocheting with Sheila Pepe and Jacob Olmedo

What Can You Do with Glass?
What Can You Do with Glass?

What Can You Do with Clay?
What Can You Do with Clay?

What Can You do with an Object?
What Can You do with an Object?

Music for the People
Music for the People

BTS: The Fisher Dollhouse: A Venetian Palazzo in Miniature
BTS: The Fisher Dollhouse: A Venetian Palazzo in Miniature

Virtual Tour of Invisible Sculptures with Yeseul Song
Virtual Tour of Invisible Sculptures with Yeseul Song

Music at MAD - Laura Metcalf
Music at MAD - Laura Metcalf

Mia Wright-Ross: A Moment to Breathe - Now Open
Mia Wright-Ross: A Moment to Breathe - Now Open

Ralph Gibson on Brian Clarke
Ralph Gibson on Brian Clarke

Music at MAD: Yulia Ziskel
Music at MAD: Yulia Ziskel

Music at MAD: Daniel Khalikov and Milan Milisavljević
Music at MAD: Daniel Khalikov and Milan Milisavljević

Brian Clarke on Painting
Brian Clarke on Painting

Music at MAD : Sumire Kudo
Music at MAD : Sumire Kudo

Crafting the Future's Corey Pemberton
Crafting the Future's Corey Pemberton

We’re all missing the live music experience, so we are bringing the music to MAD!
We’re all missing the live music experience, so we are bringing the music to MAD!

Calling all Artists and Designers! Don’t miss your chance to become a MAD Artist-in-Residence!
Calling all Artists and Designers! Don’t miss your chance to become a MAD Artist-in-Residence!

Brian Clarke and Norman Foster
Brian Clarke and Norman Foster

MAD and Intersect Chicago Virtual Tour of Beth Lipman: Collective Elegy
MAD and Intersect Chicago Virtual Tour of Beth Lipman: Collective Elegy

MAD's Digital Drop-in: Halloween Festival
MAD's Digital Drop-in: Halloween Festival

Political Advertisement : Virtual Screening and Discussion - Thu, Oct 29 / 7 pm ET
Political Advertisement : Virtual Screening and Discussion - Thu, Oct 29 / 7 pm ET

Visit MAD this weekend!
Visit MAD this weekend!

MAD BALL 2020 WATCH PARTY TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM ET
MAD BALL 2020 WATCH PARTY TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM ET

Brian Clarke with HENI - PT 1
Brian Clarke with HENI - PT 1

ATTENTION NEW YORKERS! PLAN YOUR VOTE!
ATTENTION NEW YORKERS! PLAN YOUR VOTE!

🎉 Save the Date for #MADBALL2020 on October 15! 🎉
🎉 Save the Date for #MADBALL2020 on October 15! 🎉

Digital Drop-in: Zero-Waste Weaving
Digital Drop-in: Zero-Waste Weaving

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Our Story

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields—presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.

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Comments

So upset about my recent experience with the Solar (sp) cubes. On the day I got an e mail offering the cubes I ordered. Foolishly I was going to apply my membership discount. Back and forth e mails. saw my membership expired in March; so rejoined as an Itinerant (?) for $75. Ended up ordering without discount. Fine; Then yesterday got an e mail that my order was cancelled. I have been a member, out of town and now here for many years. Before the virus and before I got to 90 this Feb. I would visit the Museum, taking the train to Penn and then a local to Columbus Circle. So much fun. Many of my craftspeople friends are represented at your store. One, Hitomi Jacobs was also featured prominently one year. But now I have to go outside the Museum to find a replacement. I can't go out shopping so here I am e mailing my favorite Museum.
UNTITLED IMAGE 1951- Iwakawa Yukihiro Web Exhibition Work 2020 10_03 1 http://rrsrrs.la.coocan.jp/ UNTITLED IMAGE 1951- Iwakawa Yukihiro Web Exhibition Work 2020 10_03 2 http://rrsrrs.la.coocan.jp/
The late Joram Mariga the Godfather of the modern Shona Stone Sculptures movement
Please check to see if I have/ had two memberships. I keep getting duplicate emails. I will renew the one that expired most recently. B Fittipaldo
Visit : Montenegro Fine Art www.montenegrofineart.com
United States plastic artists. We think of you as an American artist who wants his work to be known in South America, Central America and Europe. We invite you to participate in the virtual contest of the renowned arts group Universo de las Artes Brazil / Argentina. A catalog will be made with 5 photos of each artist's works, mini biography and all contacts. Great publicity on Social Networks. The artist chooses the theme and style to be presented. The three winners will have the reproduction of their works exhibited in Brazil at the Ateliê and Galeria de Arte Buana Lima in a physical exhibition entitled to a certificate of participation. More information [email protected]
Hello, I’m taking part in a “Crafting during covid-19” Type of exhibition (called Covidesign) in Copenhagen, Denmark December to April. I’ve done embroidery work of unusual mask wearers. A friend of mine said my work was something your museum would probably enjoy, but there is no email that I can find so I’m posting it here. I don’t know how it all works but I get my work back in April and didn’t know if you would be interested in that type of show come spring?
Spent the pandemic making amazing art? Now you need to share it! Join other artists for the latest exhibition from The Pure Arts group.
Hi I saw this image on your page. Who is the artist and is it currently on display? Thanks so much.
Amazing exhibit to see in NYC!!!
New way web design using art and design methodology 👇👇
Iwakawa Yukihiro Web Exhibition Dissolution(溶解) Work 2019 12_1 Dissolution(溶解) Arrows. Sounds. Various 1~3 (12 pieces of works) Canvas size F3 http://rrsrrs.la.coocan.jp