Is ‘Design-Art’ Here to Stay?

LONDON—According to the International Herald Tribune, “the frenzied design market is set to hit a new high” this week, when an exhibition of furniture by the Australian-born designer Marc Newson opens Jan. 25 at Gagosian Gallery in New York.

Considered one of the world’s leading industrial designers, Newson has developed aircraft interiors for Qantas, Nike sneakers, Samsonite luggage and a Ford concept car. He also is the poster child for the “design-art” boom, having set an auction record for the work of a living designer when a prototype of his 1986 Lockheed Lounge chair sold at Sotheby’s in June for $968,000.

The exhibition marks the first time a dealer of Gagosian’s echelon has touted a designer, and the Herald predicts others will soon follow, further diminishing the boundaries between art and design.

However, the newspaper also questions whether “design-art” has an enduring value that will stand the test of time.

“It’s hard to imagine future design historians considering even the best “design-art” to be more important than, say, One Laptop per Child’s project to design $100 computers for children in the developing world, or Apple’s efforts to develop a user-friendly smart phone in the iPhone,” the Herald wrote.

The International Herald Tribune: The designer Newson teams up with Gagosian Gallery