08/27/2026
Porcelain, silver, bronze, wood, glass, 3D-printed materials, lace, wall paper are all part of the diversity and range of mediums across centuries that artists and designers have used to create functional objects that go far beyond their utility to inspire and awe, to attract, shock and entice.
“Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has unveiled its permanent collection galleries with Design Across Time: Exploring the Smithsonian’s Design Collection. The landmark presentation showcases a selection of 125 works drawn from Cooper Hewitt’s collection installed throughout the first floor of the museum’s Carnegie Mansion. The exhibition provides visitors with a new thematic take on the collection and expands access to its vast repository of historic and contemporary design, including significant works newly brought out of storage, recent acquisitions on public display for the first time, and canonical objects of American and global design history.
The exhibition is rooted in the idea that design is everywhere, that it serves a civic purpose and that from small objects to larger systems, everyone is an expert user and active participant of the built environment.
This multi-year installation of the permanent collection, which will feature rotations of objects throughout its duration, is organized in six thematic clusters representing some of the many approaches involved in the creative process and often utilized by designers:
Play and Tweak to experiment and iterate ideas
Repeat elements to reinforce messages
Transform materials into sustainable solutions
Show off craftsmanship to create objects of beauty
Simplify complex shapes and information “
See it on view now at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum