About
Marc Newson approaches design as an experimental exercise in structure and advanced technology, combined with a tactile and exacting exploration of materials, processes, and skills. As an industrial designer—the only one represented by Gagosian—his reach is broad and diverse, incorporating watches, footwear, luggage, and aircraft interiors. Since the outset of his career, he has also produced limited-edition furniture, including the iconic Lockheed Lounge (1988). As distinctions between art and design become increasingly blurred, Newson remains a trailblazer, having pursued parallel activities in exclusive and mass production for more than thirty years.
Born in Sydney in 1963, Newson graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 1986. Receiving a grant from the Australian Crafts Council, he staged his first solo exhibition, Seating for Six, at Roslyn Oxley9 in Sydney, when he was just twenty-three. By the age of twenty-five, he had produced the hand-built Lockheed Lounge, a chaise lounge named after its riveted aluminum panels’ resemblance to the aircraft engineered by Lockheed Martin. After living and working in Sydney, Tokyo, and Paris, he relocated to London, where his company, Marc Newson Limited, has been based since 1997. Newson has also concomitantly held senior positions at clients’ companies: he was creative director of Qantas Airways from 2005 to 2015, and he has been a designer for special projects at Apple since 2014. In 2019, Marc and Sir Jonathan Ive founded the creative collective LoveFrom.
Newson is perhaps best known for applying his aesthetic vision and technical mastery to innovative items of furniture, such as Extruded Tables and Voronoi Shelf (both 2007), both carved from single blocks of Carrara and Bardiglio marble respectively. He has also produced pieces using the Chinese cloisonné technique, revealing in the process his training as a silversmith and watchmaker. Crafted by hand in Beijing, these works feature an intricate type of enameling typically used for figurines and vases yet here applied at a larger scale in all-over patterns to copper chairs, lounges, and desks.
#MarcNewson
Website
Exhibitions
Concepts in Motion
Alison Castle reports on concept cars created by visionaries—architects, artists, amateurs—from outside the field on automotive design.
Il Sorpasso
Carlos Valladares writes on Dino Risi’s Il Sorpasso (1962), examining the narrative structure and underlying tensions that keep viewers returning to this classic film.
In Conversation
Ruth Rogers and Marc Newson
Marc Newson joins restaurateur Ruth Rogers to discuss the compendium of topics he selected for a special supplement he guest-edited for the Spring 2023 issue of the Quarterly.
Iwa Sake and Kura
As part of the artist’s guest-edited special section for the Spring 2023 issue of the Quarterly, Marc Newson reflects with IWA Sake founder Richard Geoffroy and architect Kengo Kuma on their respective contributions to IWA Sake in Japan: bottle, brewing, and building. The sake brewery, or kura in Japanese, takes its name from its site of Shiraiwa, located in the town of Tateyama.
In Conversation
Toyo Ito, Marc Newson, and Koji Yanai
The Tokyo Toilet project has added twelve new public restrooms by renowned architects and designers to the city’s map since 2020, with five more scheduled to open in 2022. To learn more about the initiative, the Quarterly spoke with founder Koji Yanai and two of the participating designers, Toyo Ito and Marc Newson.
In Conversation
Marc Newson and Derek Blasberg
Marc Newson tells Derek Blasberg about his newest creations, explaining the backstory of these ornate works.
Behind the Art
Marc Newson
In this video, Marc Newson provides an overview of his latest exhibition. He details the various technical processes behind his new designs, including works in cloisonné, surfboards, swords, and large-scale glass chairs.
Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Spring 2019
The Spring 2019 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Red Pot with Lute Player #2 by Jonas Wood on its cover.
Fairs, Events & Announcements
Shop Takeover
Marc Newson
July 5–September 10, 2022
Gagosian Shop, London
Marc Newson is taking over the Gagosian Shop in London’s historic Burlington Arcade. Newson will showcase large-scale cloisonné furniture alongside pieces in various forms of glass that push the boundaries of the medium. Included are his Magnolia chair (2019) and cloisonné lounge, which adapt the ancient craft of Chinese enamel, aluminum surfboards, a cast glass chair, and a table from the Murrina series. The presentation coincides with the launch of a recently published catalogue that documents Newson’s intensive manufacturing process.
Also available are personalized iPhone cases from the artist’s collaboration with cult brand Chaos. The Marc Newson × Chaos collection is inspired by Newson’s enameling techniques and features motifs such as his signature amoebic “orgone” pattern.
For the first month, Gagosian Shop will present dresses by Alaïa—the fashion house founded by designer Azzedine Alaïa (1935–2017)—inspired by Picasso’s Tanagra ceramics. Alaïa was a longtime friend and collaborator of Newson’s.
Marc Newson takeover at the Gagosian Shop, London, 2022. Artwork © Marc Newson. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd
Art Fair
FIAC Online 2021
Printemps oublié
March 2–12, 2021
Gagosian is pleased to present Printemps oublié for the first online edition of FIAC. This curated presentation reflects the dual character of springtime as a reminder of past trials and the harbinger of a vibrant new season to come.
All the artworks will appear on the Gagosian website and a rotating selection will appear in the inaugural FIAC Online Viewing Rooms, from March 4 to 7.
Jeff Koons, Bluebird Planter, 2010–16 © Jeff Koons
Tour
Marc Newson
Saturday, June 29, 2019, 4pm
Gagosian, Hong Kong
Gagosian Senior Director Han-I Wang will lead a tour of Marc Newson’s first exhibition of limited-edition furniture in China. This presentation explores Newson’s use of increasingly rare decorative processes at an unconventionally large, even unprecedented, scale, as well as his curiosity with the streamlined, simple beauty of Asian art and design. From cloisonné to cast glass chairs to Aikuchi swords, Wang will take a closer look at how the artist blurs the boundaries between sculpture, furniture, and the decorative arts. To attend the free event, RSVP to hktours@gagosian.com. Space is limited.
Marc Newson, Cloisonné Yellow Chair, 2017 © Marc Newson
Museum Exhibitions
Closed
Tubology
Our Lives in Tubes
April 21–December 30, 2018
FRAC Grand Large—Hauts-de-France, Dunkirk, France
www.fracnpdc.fr
Tubology: Our Lives in Tubes offers a totally new reading of the FRAC Grand Large collection from the 1960s up to the present day, and speculates about the prerequisites for rendering art and design relevant to a society mutating at high speed. Work by Marc Newson and Taryn Simon is included.
Taryn Simon, Research Marijuana Crop Grow Room, National Center for Natural Products Research, Oxford, Mississippi, 2007 © Taryn Simon