- Marc Newson -

Marc Newson

Australia — b. 1963

Biography

Marc Newson has been described as one of the most influential designers of his generation. He has worked across an extremely wide range of disciplines, and his clients include some of the best- known and most prestigious brands in the world spanning diverse sectors from furniture, luxury goods, and technology, to marine, automotive, and aviation design.

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1963, Newson has lived and worked in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and presently 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...

Marc Newson has been described as one of the most influential designers of his generation. He has worked across an extremely wide range of disciplines, and his clients include some of the best- known and most prestigious brands in the world spanning diverse sectors from furniture, luxury goods, and technology, to marine, automotive, and aviation design.

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1963, Newson has lived and worked in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and presently 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 held senior 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 Crafts Council grant, he staged his first solo exhibition in 1986 at the age of 23. He began his career hand making furniture and timepieces in a workshop in Sydney, early designs included the Super Guppy Lamp, Pod of Drawers and Embryo Chair, the latter of which has been in production since its inception. By the age of 25, Newson had created the Lockheed Lounge, a riveted aluminium chaise longue that has arguably become one of the most iconic contemporary design works. Some 30 years later, it has set four world record prices at auction for work created by a living designer. His design pieces are highly sought after on the secondary market, accounting for a sizeable portion of auction sales 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 by Galerie kreo, where Didier Krzentowski is compiling his catalogue raisonné. Leading museums around 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), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum and V&A Museum (London), Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou and Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am 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’s International Design Council.

As a long-term supporter of the charity (RED), Newson together with Ive curated a design auction in 2013 which raised a staggering $46 million (USD) for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Since then, he has worked with clients to turn several of his designs ‘red’ in support of the charity.

Newson has been included in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and has received numerous industry awards and distinctions. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art 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) by the Royal Society of Arts. In 2012, he was awarded CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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

Photo credits: © Courtesy Gagosian 2022

Solo Shows

Marc Newson - Quobus by Marc Newson
Solo Show

September 15 - November 20, 2021

Marc Newson - Quobus by Marc Newson
Solo Show

September 11 - November 20, 2021

Marc Newson - Marc Newson
Solo Show

January 10 - February 28, 2004

Marc Newson - 19 | Bertrand Lavier / Marc Newson
Solo Show

June 01 - July 27, 2002

Marc Newson - Marc Newson
Solo Show

June 15 - July 29, 2000

Group Shows

Marc Newson -
Off-site event

February 22 - April 30, 2024

Marc Newson - Design Miami/ Paris 2023
Fair

October 17 - October 22, 2023

Marc Newson - Design Miami/ Basel 2023
Fair

June 12 - June 18, 2023

Marc Newson - TEFAF New York 2023
Fair

May 11 - May 16, 2023

Marc Newson - PAD London 2022
Fair

October 10 - October 16, 2022

Marc Newson - step by step
Group Show

September 16 - November 05, 2022

Marc Newson - Design Miami/ Basel 2022
Fair

June 13 - June 19, 2022

Marc Newson - TEFAF New York 2022
Fair

May 05 - May 10, 2022

Marc Newson - 'inside'
Group Show

December 08, 2021 - April 09, 2022

Marc Newson - 20 years
Group Show

September 25 - December 24, 2019

Marc Newson - Didier Lavier
Group Show

September 13 - November 04, 2017

Marc Newson - One piece a day
Group Show

September 12 - October 22, 2016

Marc Newson - FOG Art+Design San Francisco
Fair

January 13 - January 17, 2016

Marc Newson - shades of variety
Group Show

March 25 - May 23, 2015

Marc Newson - Only wood
Group Show

November 05 - December 20, 2014

Marc Newson - To be continued
Group Show

October 30 - December 20, 2014

Marc Newson - Ensemble
Group Show

October 12 - November 24, 2012

Marc Newson - matières à réflexion
Group Show

February 10 - May 15, 2011

Marc Newson - 10 printemps en automne
Group Show

September 12 - October 31, 2009

Marc Newson - transition
Group Show

November 29, 2008 - January 24, 2009

Marc Newson - a black show...
Group Show

June 02 - July 13, 2007

Marc Newson - Miroirs
Group Show

November 15 - December 20, 2003

Marc Newson - Les designers de la galerie
Group Show

March 01 - April 19, 2003

Marc Newson - Sit Down 1950-2001
Group Show

December 08, 2001 - January 19, 2002

kreo in motion

‘kreo in motion’ is a series of short films re-imagining pieces of the gallery through the eye of talented motion designers and animators! Every month a series of 3 animations will be posted at regular intervals. Each series will be dedicated to the creative practice of a different motion designer - blank canvas to …

Quobus 1,2,4 by Rohan Mudgal

Rohan Mudgal’s second animation features the monochrome blue modular bookshelf from Marc Newson's 'Quobus' series. The animation highlights the playful aspect of the Quobus shelves, deconstructing them even further than just their separate modules; groove by groove, and flat surface by flat surface. Rohan's imagery, paired with his original sound design, sweeps us into a tranquil whirlwind as if in a dream. As the elements come together, the final shot depicts the inherent versatility of the shelves, showing how they can be used to hold just about anything.

Embryo by Jake Tyas

In this animation, Jake Tyas illustrates Marc Newson’s iconic 'Embryo chair'. Monochrome, glitchy water-like blotches bubble into shape to slowly make up the 'Embryo chair'.