Glenn Adamson

Glenn Adamson (born 1972) is an American curator, author, and historian whose research and work focuses on the intersections of design, craft, and contemporary art.[1] Adamson is currently Editor-at-Large of The Magazine Antiques,[2] Editor of Journal of Modern Craft, and a freelance writer and curator. Adamson has held previous notable appointments as the Director of the Museum of Arts and Design, Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and as Curator at the Chipstone Foundation.[3]

Glenn Adamson
Born1972 (age 48–49)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University
Yale University
OccupationAuthor,
Curator,
Researcher

Personal life

Glenn Adamson was born in 1972 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts along with his identical twin brother Peter Adamson.[4] Glenn Adamson earned his B.A. in History of Art from Cornell University in 1994 and his PhD in Art History from Yale University in 2001.[5] Adamson is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.[6]

Museum and curatorial work

Museum of Arts and Design

From 2013 to 2016 Glenn Adamson served as the Nanette L. Laitman Director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, NY. Adamson's hire at the Museum of Arts and Design came as a somewhat surprise.[7] Previously, Adamson had been a critic of the museum, using a 2011 review of the exhibition The Global Africa Project in the magazine Art in America to critique the institution itself. Adamson's critiques included the architecture of the museum's new building and their gallery layouts, the 2002 name change, and the "incoherent execution" of exhibitions.[8] Holly Hotchner, director of the Museum of Arts and Design from 1996 to 2013, responded to Adamson's critiques in a letter to the editor of Art in America in 2011 where she defended many of the topics Adamson critiqued.[9] In spite of this previous tension, the museum found Adamson to be the "most exciting candidate"[7] when searching for Hotchner's replacement in 2013.

In 2016, when Adamson stepped down from his post as Director at the Museum of Arts and Design, the museum stated:

"During his tenure, Dr. Adamson led the institution through a period of significant growth of its programming and resources, and built a new leadership team. Dr. Adamson spearheaded an exhibitions program that explored and expanded MAD’s unique mission and role in the arts ecology of New York and the nation, including NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial; Ralph Pucci: The Art of the Mannequin; Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft, and Design, Midcentury and Today; Wendell Castle Remastered; Studio Job: MAD HOUSE; and Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years. Dr. Adamson created the position of Windgate Research Curator, in collaboration with the Bard Graduate Center, to further enhance the scholarship of MAD’s publications and exhibitions. He also expanded MAD’s noted artist-in-residence program by engaging younger artists from traditionally under-represented communities, through an initiative funded by a grant from the New York Community Trust." [10]

Victoria and Albert Museum

From 2005 to 2013 Glenn Adamson served as the Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[11] During his time there, Adamson published several books and essays, as well as co-curated the exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 along with Jane Pavitt.[12] Adamson was also a key proponent in initiating the "Rapid Response Unit" of the V&A, where contemporary objects like 3D printed guns and "pussy hats" are added to the museum's collection quickly in direct response to contemporary culture.[13]

Chipstone Foundation

Glenn Adamson served as Curator for the Chipstone Foundation from 2000-2005.[2] The Chipstone Foundation focuses on the study, preservation, and championing of American material culture with heavy emphases on the decorative arts.[14] This mission can be seen reflected in Adamson's work there, where he curated such historically American focused exhibitions as Skin Deep: Three Masters of American Inlay and Tea Table Coffee Table.[15][16] In addition to his curatorial work, Adamson also made regular contributions to the Chipstone's journals American Furniture and Ceramics in America.[17][18][19][20]

Guest curatorial work
  • 2003 Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI[21][22]
  • 2013 fix fix fix, Gallery SO, London, UK[23][24]
  • 2017 "Things of Beauty Growing”: British Studio Pottery (co-curated with Martina Droth and Simon Olding), Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT[25]
  • 2017 Static,Friedman Benda Gallery, New York City, NY[26][27]
  • 2017 Beazley Designs of the Year, Design Museum, London, UK[28][29]
  • 2018 Raw Design, Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA[30]
  • 2018 When Attitudes Becomes Chairs, Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH [31][32]

Selected publications

Books
  • Craft: An American History (Bloomsbury, 2021)[33]
  • Fewer Better Things: The Hidden Wisdom of Objects (Bloomsbury, 2018)[34]
  • The Invention of Craft (Bloomsbury, 2013)[35]
  • The Craft Reader (Berg, 2010)[36]
  • Thinking Through Craft (Berg, 2007)[37]
  • Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World (MIT Press, 2003)[38]

Book collaborations
  • Creating Ourselves: The Self in Art (Whitechapel Gallery, 2017) (co-authored with Frances Borzello, Nicholas Cullinan, and Amelia Jones)[39]
  • Art in the Making: Artists and Their Materials from the Studio to Crowdsourcing (Thames & Hudson, 2016) (co-authored with Julia Bryan-Wilson)[40]
  • Things of Beauty Growing: British Studio Pottery (Yale University Press, 2016) (co-edited with Martina Droth, and Simon Olding)[41]
  • Peter Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years (Black Dog Publishing, 2016) (co-authored with Elissa Auther, Barbara Paris Gifford, Jim Melchert, Ruby Neri, Andrew Perchuk, and Jenni Sorkin)[42]
  • Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism (Arnoldsche, 2014) (co-authored with Edward S. Cooke, Jr., Helen W. Drutt English, Robert Slifkin, and Gregory Wittkopp)[43]
  • Surface tensions: Surface, finish and the meaning of objects (Manchester University Press, 2013) (co-edited with Victoria Kelley)[44]
  • Global Design History (Routledge, 2011) (co-edited with Giorgio Riello and Sarah Teasley)[45]
  • Postmodernism: Style and Subversion (V & A Publishing, 2011) (co-edited with Jane Pavitt)[46]
  • Hand + Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft (Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 2010) (co-authored with Valerie Cassel Oliver and Namita Wiggers)[47]
  • Unpacking the Collection: Selections from the Museum of Contemporary Craft (Museum of Contemporary Craft, 2010) (co-authored with Janet Koplos and Namita Wiggers)[48]

Articles and essays
  • A Young Designer’s Pulpy and Surprisingly Personal Furniture (Hyperallergic, 2018)[49]
  • Katherine Westphal, Fiber Art Pioneer, Dies at 99 (Hyperallergic, 2018)[50]
  • A Shrewd Designer Balances Craft and Commerce (Hyperallergic, 2018)[51]
  • Great Estates: How Contemporary Ceramics Are Keeping Chatsworth Relevant(Frieze, 2018)[52]
  • Fallen Idylls (The Magazine Antiques, 2018) [53]
  • The Future Starts Here: Jes Fan (Crafts Magazine, 2018)[54]
  • The Seamless Weaving of Fine Arts with Crafts (Hyperallergic, 2017)[55]
  • Weaving Together the Story of a Forgotten Pop Artist and Her Rugs (Hyperallergic, 2017)[56]
  • Normal Design (Art in America, 2017)[57]
  • Silver Spoons (Frieze, 2017)[58]
  • The Complexity Complex (Frieze, 2017)[59]
  • Demo Job: Craft, Art, and the Politics of Demonstration (Art Jewelry Forum, 2016)[60]
  • Summer Work: The Art of Pae White (Afterall, 2013)[61]
  • Issues & Commentary: Tsunami Africa (Art in America, 2011)[8]
  • The American Arcanum: Porcelain and the Alchemical Tradition (Ceramics in America, 2007)[19]
  • Mannerism in Early American Furniture: Connoisseurship, Intention, and Theatricality (American Furniture, 2005)[17]
  • The Politics of the Caned Chair (American Furniture, 2002)[18]
  • The Furniture of Sam Maloof (American Furniture, 2002)[20]

The Journal of Modern Craft

The Journal of Modern Craft (first launched in 2008) is a peer reviewed academic journal focused on interdisciplinary writings on the topics of design, craft, art, architecture, and related fields.[62] The journal is published by Taylor & Francis, and releases three issues a year. The editorial board consists of Glenn Adamson (USA); Tanya Harrod, Independent Scholar (UK); Edward S. Cooke Jr., Yale University (USA); Stephen Knott, Kingston University (UK); Elissa Auther, Windgate Research Curator, Bard Graduate Center and Center for Craft, Creativity and Design (USA); Jenni Sorkin, University of California (USA). The journal is funded in part by the Windgate Charitable Foundation and The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, with Joseph McBrinn, University of Ulster (UK) as the Book Review Editor, and Namita Wiggers, Museum of Contemporary Craft (USA) as the Exhibition Review Editor.[63]

References
  1. "MAD Man: Glenn Adamson on Making New York City's First Craft Biennial". Blouinartinfo.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  2. daren (10 November 2016). "Glenn Adamson Leads Course on Material Culture and Current Events". ADHT. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  3. "Glenn Adamson - Art Jewelry Forum". artjewelryforum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  4. "Glenn Adamson Appointed As Director Of Museum of Arts And Design". madmuseum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  5. "Glenn Adamson Appointed Director, Museum of Arts and Design". Artinamericamagazine.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  6. "Glenn Adamson — Bio". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  7. Pogrebin, Robin (4 September 2013). "A Critic of a Design Museum Will Lead It". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  8. "Issues & Commentary: Tsunami Africa". Artinamericamagazine.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  9. "A Response to 'Tsunami Africa,' Glenn Adamson's Commentary on 'The Global Africa Project' in the March issue of 'Art in America' - gap.madmuseum.org". gap.madmuseum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  10. "Museum History". Madmuseum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  11. "Glenn Adamson on New York and London's Distinct Museum Cultures". Hyperallergic. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  12. Khemsurov, Monica. "Sept 24: "Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990"". W Magazine. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  13. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Cite uses generic title (help)
  14. "Chipstone's Mission". Chipstone.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  15. "Tea Tables and Coffee Tables by Sarah Fayen from Antiques & Fine Art magazine". Antiquesandfineart.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  16. "Glenn Adamson — Design History". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  17. "Glenn Adamson - Mannerism in Early American Furniture: Connoisseurship, Intention, and Theatrically - American Furniture 2005". Chipstone.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  18. "Glenn Adamson - The Politics of the Caned Chair - American Furniture 2002". Chipstone.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  19. "Glenn Adamson - The American Arcanum: Porcelain and the Alchemical Tradition - Ceramics in America 2007". Chipstone.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  20. "Jeremy Adamson - The Furniture of Sam Maloof - Review by Glenn Adamson". Chipstone.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  21. Press, The MIT. "Glenn Adamson". The MIT Press. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  22. "Industrial Strength Design". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  23. "fix fix fix". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  24. "Fix Fix Fix - 15 February - 24 March 2013". Gallery SO. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  25. ""Things of Beauty Growing": British Studio Pottery - Yale Center for British Art". britishart.yale.edu. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  26. "Static". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  27. "Static - Exhibitions - Friedman Benda". Friedmanbenda.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  28. "Beazley Designs of the Year". Glenn Adamson. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  29. Holland, Oscar (16 August 2017). "And the best designs of the year are..." CNN Style. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  30. ""Raw Design" at the Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco". Blouinartinfo.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  31. "When Attitudes Becomes Chairs". Pizzuti Collection. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  32. ray.461. "Pizzuti Collection makes a powerful reopening". The Lantern. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  33. Glenn Adamson. "Craft: An American History". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  34. Glenn Adamson. "Fewer, Better Things : The Hidden Wisdom of Objects". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  35. Glenn Adamson. "The Invention of Craft". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  36. Glenn Adamson. "The Craft Reader". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  37. Glenn Adamson. "Thinking Through Craft". Bloomsbury.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  38. "Industrial Strength Design". Mitpress.mit.edu. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  39. Creating Ourselves ARTBOOK - D.A.P. 2017 Catalog Whitechapel Gallery Books Exhibition Catalogues 9780854882571. Artbook.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  40. "Art in the Making: Artists and their Materials from the Studio to Crowdsourcing". Thames & Hudson USA. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  41. "Things of Beauty Growing - Yale University Press". yalebooks.yale.edu. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  42. "Peter Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years". Black Dog Press. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  43. "Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries and Crafting Modernism". Cranbrook Art Museum. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  44. "Manchester University Press - Surface tensions". Manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  45. "Global Design History: 1st Edition (Paperback) - Routledge". Routledge.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  46. "Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-90 (Hardback)". Vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  47. Hand + Made The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft ARTBOOK - D.A.P. 2010 Catalog 9781933619262. Artbook.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  48. Unpacking the Collection ARTBOOK - D.A.P. 2010 Catalog Museum of Contemporary Craft Books Exhibition Catalogues 9780972898133. Artbook.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  49. "A Young Designer's Pulpy and Surprisingly Personal Furniture". Hyperallergic. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  50. "Katherine Westphal, Fiber Art Pioneer, Dies at 99". Hyperallergic. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  51. "A Shrewd Designer Balances Craft and Commerce". Hyperallergic. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  52. "Great Estates: How Contemporary Ceramics Are Keeping Chatsworth Relevant". frieze.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  53. "Fallen Idylls". The Magazine Antiques. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  54. "Introducing our September/October 2018 issue - Crafts Council". Craftscouncil.org.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  55. "The Seamless Weaving of Fine Arts with Crafts". Hyperallergic. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  56. "Weaving Together the Story of a Forgotten Pop Artist and Her Rugs". Hyperallergic. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  57. "Normal Design". Artinamericamagazine.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  58. "Silver Spoons". frieze.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  59. "The Complexity Complex". frieze.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  60. "Demo Job: Craft, Art, and the Politics of Demonstration - Art Jewelry Forum". artjewelryforum.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  61. "Summer Work: The Art of Pae White • 32 - Spring 2013". Afterall.org. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  62. "The Journal of Modern Craft". Tandfonline.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  63. "The Journal of Modern Craft". Tandfonline.com. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
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