This Just In: New Acquisitions

This Just In: New Acquisitions highlighted selected acquisitions by the Museum of Arts and Design from the past three years. Since 2007, the Museum has acquired more than 600 objects for the MAD permanent collection, increasing its holdings by over 30%. The exhibition offered visitors the opportunity to explore some of the ways in which the collection has grown. These additions to the Museum’s collection reflect the institution’s continuing commitment to exploring creativity in art, craft, and design through materials and processes.

The Museum’s holdings in design have expanded considerably during this period, focusing on designers whose interest in materials and process links them to the Museum’s mission. Exhibitions organized by MAD, such as Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics, led to the acquisition of important examples of innovative industrial and studio ceramic production, including the Equus Collection, designed by Bodo Sperlein, and the series of reworked and reimagined Spode earthenware plates by Paul Scott. In their variety and inventiveness, Scott’s pieces demonstrate how artists have used industrial ceramics as inspiration for one-of-a-kind works.

Many pieces were acquired to meet specific collecting goals, such as adding historical works to the collection to complete the story of art and design since 1945. Others were acquired to document forms, materials, or techniques in depth. One such area was goblets, chosen because they represent a variety of mediums and approaches, from the individually handmade to the mass-produced. The Museum’s goblet collection now numbers almost 150 works. Many are on permanent display in the 3rd-floor staircase window, while others, such as the delicate turned wood goblet by Stuart Mortimer, are included here.

The installation will be changing over the course of the exhibition to include some acquisitions that have never been shown.