Co-curators: Kathleen Campbell, Ph.D. and Jean McElvain, Ph.D.

Ethnic dress provides a visual and emotional connection between members of an ethnic group and place; sometimes ethnic dress also connects ethnic group members to a shared language, religion, or occupation. Drawn from the Goldstein's collection of international apparel, this exhibition will showcase special occasion apparel that expresses aspects of both stability and change. Click here for a full press release.

Supported in part by the University of Minnesota Imagine Fund, supported by a generous donation from the McKnight Foundation; the College of Design; and the Friends of the Goldstein.

April 25-May 16, 2009, Party and Awards Ceremony May 15, 6:30-8:30 pm; HGA/ALA Library

• This annual event and awards ceremony celebrates new graduates and reflects the professional quality of work done by students of the college.
• Included will be students from Architecture, Clothing Design, Environmental Design, Graphic Design, Housing Studies, Interior Design, and Retail Merchandising.
• Awards Ceremony will feature monetary prizes distributed by professionals who will review the student works.

Click here to view participants.

Click here to download a full press release

Preserving Early Christian Thessalonike

March 16 – May 10, 2009; HGA Gallery

Horizons: Paintings by Mary Guzowski

Nature's Wonders: Drawings by Virajita Singh

January 12 – March 8, 2009; HGA Gallery

The National Building Museum’s acclaimed exhibition The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design is the first to explore the field of green residential design as it reaches a turning point of acceptance by both home builders and the general public.

Photographic images and drawings of 22 projects from around the world will document the emergence of a new brand of sustainable building. Architects and builders now view sustainability as a catalyst for creative home design and have also begun to think strategically about the environmental costs of building. These new houses are conceived as systems with extended life cycles that must meet green standards throughout the design, construction, and living process. Environmental responsibility is an integral, but not always conspicuous, aspect of the contemporary house. Click here to download a full press release.

Juried by Kyoung Ae Cho and Jan Myers-Newbury

Individual strands interlock and interlace to create structure.  Multiple units connect becoming composition and texture. Color, pattern and imagery combine into complex surfaces.  In this exhibition the Surface Design Association brings together the work of its members as individuals to create a whole that is more than simply the Sum of the Parts. 

As part of the Surface Design Association’s 2007 International Conference held at the Kansas City Art Institute, members were invited to submit work measuring 52” h x 18” w for an installation showcasing innovative use of textiles.  The 100 pieces juried into this exhibition show a wide range of materials, techniques, thought processes, context and concept of its members. Fibers and materials range from window screening to gold leaf, bamboo to baling twine, chicken wire to silk organza.  The works are hand dyed, woven, knitted, crocheted, quilted, batiked, rusted, composted, digitally printed, hand stitched, painted, discharged, fused, appliquéd, hooked, Jacquard woven, collaged, stamped, braided, screen printed, bonded, felted, embroidered, waxed and pieced. Click here to download a full press release.

Three groundbreaking European architectural firms explore the relationship between nature and the built environment and take us beyond the emerging doctrines of green design in an exhibition curated by David Gissen. This show challenges accepted ideas of nature and human interaction to creatively imagine what nature might be and how humans might interact with it. The exhibition features the work of three architecture firms R&Sie of Paris, Phillipe Rahm of Lausanne and Paris, and Amid [Cero 9] of Madrid and includes computer renderings, photographs, 3D prints and diagrams to support each firm’s vision.

The influence of sportswear on contemporary American fashion can be seen daily.  From Sportswear to Streetwear: American Innovation features garments from the Goldstein’s collection demonstrating the migration of specialty fabrics for athletic wear, such as quik-dri and stretch, and styles such as golf shirts, ski pants and athletic shoes into casual dress. Over the years, this mutual influence has shifted from sportswear to streetwear and back again, leaving viewers to ask: Is it sportswear or streetwear? Click here to download a full press release.

Richard Knight's photographs offer an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes at the architectural practice and office of Eero Saarinen and Associates. His photographs cover the period from 1957 to Saarinen's death in 1961, when Saarinen was working on iconic projects such as the Dulles International Airport Terminal, the former TWA Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

The world of specialty textiles has been changing at a rapid pace with new materials, technologies and innovations in production around the world. Techno Textiles: Inner Space to Outer Space examined many of these innovative materials and how they are being used by leading designers from around the globe. Some of the concepts featured protective clothing, intelligent buildings that dynamically respond to the environment, luminous wall interiors and interactive digital displays that are part of the furniture upholstery, as well as fabric balloons used to ensure interplanetary probe vehicles land safely on the surface of Mars. Click here to download the press release

The College of Design graduating seniors had an exhibit featuring 1-2 examples of each of their best work for the 2008 ROOTS OF THE FUTURE: College of Design Senior Show. This annual event and awards ceremony celebrates new graduates and reflects the professional quality of work done by students of the college. ROOTS OF THE FUTURE: College of Design Senior Show represented undergraduates who graduated in 2007-2008. This included students from Architecture, Clothing Design, Environmental Design, Graphic Design, Housing Studies, Interior Design, and Retail Merchandising. They exhibited such projects as poster presentations of research, 3-D projects of clothing and architectural designs, and PowerPoint presentations displayed digitally of their design process.

ROOTS OF THE FUTURE: College of Design Senior Show also featured an awards program in which monetary and other awards were distributed from professional designers who reviewed works in the exhibition and selected award recipients.

Click here to view a full list of the participants and see samples of their work.

America's first celebrity designer, Russel Wright's designs and logo signature were found in nearly every American kitchen and dining room during the 1940s and '50s. Wholeheartedly believing that good design was for everyone, Russel Wright was truly the first designer committed to creating high designed functional items for everyday living. Russel Wright: Living with Good Design traces the Ohio native’s career development as his designs and concepts for a new, relaxed style of living emerged and subsequently transformed a generation of Americans following World War II. The exhibition will remain on view through April 20, 2008.  Russel Wright: Living with Good Design is organized by Arts Midwest and the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio and sponsored by Target. The exhibit was designed for the Goldstein Museum Gallery by students in the University of Minnesota course DHA 5170 Special Topics in Design, Housing, Apparel: Exhibit Design, taught by Lonnie Broden of the Science Museum of Minnesota. Click here to download the press release.

HBDIII is the third in a series of exhibitions focusing on the creativity of local designers. The exhibit presented digital fabrication techniques and rapid prototyping by leading Minnesota architects, product designers, and researchers. This exhibit investigated the themes that are emerging in contemporary design around the use of digital fabrication and by investigating how digital fabrication is affecting how designers design.

Click here to download the press release.

Products of Our Time brings together the work of an international array of designers and artists who are commenting on the current environmental, economic, cultural, and political zeitgeist using a common medium—products. Guest Curator: Daniel Jasper, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design.

Click here to download the press release.