MARC NEWSON

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1963, Newson has lived and worked in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, andpresently resides in the UK where his company, Marc Newson Limited, has been based since 1997.His clients include companies such as Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Hermès, Nike, Dom Pérignon,Jaeger-LeCoultre and Ferrari to name a few. As well as overseeing his own company, he has heldsenior positions at clients’ companies, having been Creative Director of Qantas Airways from 2005-2015, and Designer for Special Projects at Apple since his first involvement in the design of the’Apple Watch’. In 2019, Marc and Sir Jonathan Ive founded the creative collective LoveFrom.

Marc Newson studied Fine Art at The University of Sydney and with the aid of an Australian CraftsCouncil grant, he staged his first solo exhibition in 1986 at the age of 23. He began his career handmaking furniture and timepieces in a workshop in Sydney, early designs included the Super GuppyLamp, Pod of Drawers and Embryo Chair, the latter of which has been in production since itsinception. By the age of 25, Newson had created the Lockheed Lounge, a riveted aluminium chaiselongue that has arguably become one of the most iconic contemporary design works. Some 30 yearslater, it has set four world record prices at auction for work created by a living designer. His designpieces are highly sought after on the secondary market, accounting for a sizeable portion of auctionsales in the contemporary design category for Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips.

Newson is the only industrial designer represented by Gagosian, and he is also represented byGalerie kreo, where Didier Krzentowski is compiling his catalogue raisonné. Leading museumsaround the world have hosted solo retrospective exhibitions of his work.

Additionally, his work is presented in the permanent collections of many major museums including:The Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York), SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum and V&A Museum (London), Musée Nationald’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou and Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), Vitra Design Museum (Weilam Rhein), Museum Angewandte Kunst (Frankfurt), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg,Museu do Design e da Moda (Lisbon), Israel Museum (Jerusalem), Powerhouse Museum (Sydney),and the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne). He has also chaired the London Design Museum‘sInternational Design Council.

As a long-term supporter of the charity (RED), Newson together with Ive curated a design auction in2013 which raised a staggering $46 million (USD) for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, andMalaria. Since then, he has worked with clients to turn several of his designs ‘red’ in support of thecharity.

Newson has been included in TIME Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential People and has receivednumerous industry awards and distinctions. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College ofArt and The University of Sydney, has held Adjunct Professorships at _The University of Sydney_and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and has been appointed RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) bythe Royal Society of Arts. In 2012, he was awarded CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order ofthe British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Newson’s work has been featured widely in books and publications around the world, includingthree monographs to date most notably the encyclopaedic ‘Marc Newson Works’ publishedby Taschen (2012). He has been the subject of various radio and television programmes including aninterview on PBS on Charlie Rose, BBC’s Imagine ‘Marc Newson Urban Spaceman’, Objects ofDesire on Sky Arts, and ‘Objectified’, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. In 2013, Newson spoke atTEDxSydney, and each year since 2011 he has joined the judging committee at Cartier Style et Luxe,Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Text courtesy Gagosian.