COOPER HEWITT IN LONDON | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

About the exhibition

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and its groundbreaking creative technologies will represent the United States at the first London Design Biennale. The Biennale will take place in the heart of London at Somerset House, a center for the arts and culture. More than 35 countries from six continents will present new installations and commissioned works on the theme of Utopia by Design, chosen to honor the 500th anniversary of the 1516 publication of Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. The Biennale will mark the first time Cooper Hewitt’s Immersion Room and Pen will be available outside of the museum and shared with audiences from around the world.

The pen in London

The Pen—made possible with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies—is a global first in museum interactive technology. Presented in 2015 on the occasion of a major renewal of the museum’s campus, the Pen encourages visitors to learn and play as they explore the museum’s galleries and its contents. Using the Pen, visitors to the Biennale will be able to save every country’s design installation throughout Somerset House to explore more in-depth online and share via email and social media.

Highlights

Installation view of Immersion Room. Photo by Matt Flynn © 2015 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Vining floral pattern. Brightly colored realistically rendered floral bouquets, along with secondary vining pattern in grisaille. Printed on mint green polished or satin ground. — Sidewall, 1840–70 Block printed on satin ground, continuous paper 87 x 49.5 cm (34 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.) Gift of Josephine Howell 1972-42-202-a Photo: Matt Flynn

Arabesque of large acanthus rinceaux, tulips, and wiry scrolls, with large perching peacocks whose tails hang downward. — Sidewall, The Peacock Garden, 1889 Designed by Walter Crane (English, 18451915) Made by Jeffrey & Company (London, England, 18361930) Block printed on embossed paper 119.5 x 59.5 cm (47 1/16 x 23 7/16 in.) Gift of James J. Rorimer, 1950-111-4 Photo: Matt Flynn

A partial roll, containing two and one half repeats. Each repeat contains four shelves of books, including "Normandy", "Indian Tales" and "Ancient Egypt". Screen printed in 18 colors. — Sidewall, Bibliotheque, Designed by Richard Lowell Neas (American, 1928-1995) Produced by Brunschwig & Fils, Inc. Screen printed on paper 266.7 x 86.4 cm (105 x 34 in.) Gift of Hank and Gladys Edelman, 1997-159-1 Photo: Matt Flynn

In photographic half-tone enlargement, the head of cow in twice-life-size dimensions. Design is repeated vertically. Printed in coral and black on deep blue background. — Sidewall, Cow, 1971 Designed by Andy Warhol, (American, 19281987) Printed by Bob Miller’s Wallpaper Studio (New York, USA) Screen-printed on paper 348.5 x 75.5cm (137 3/16 x 29 3/4in.) Gift of Andy Warhol, 1980-69-1 Photo: Matt Flynn

Children's or boys paper. Contains scenes of the wild West including Indians shooting buffalo, a cowboy on horse leading a wagon train, and a teepee. Printed in red, slate blue, green, brown, yellow, and white on a grey ground. — Sidewall, Cowboys and Indians, 1948-56 Made by The Joliet Wallpaper Mills (Joliet, Illinois, USA) Machine-printed on paper 117 x 48.5 cm (46 1/16 x 19 1/8 in.) Gift of Suzanne Lipschutz, 1991-89-109 Photo: Matt Flynn

Drapery swag in imitation of silk satin. Printed in grisaille with pale yellow highlights on a gray ground. — Sidewall, 1920–50 Manufactured by Robert Caillard Distributed by Nancy McClelland (American, 1877–1959) Block printed on paper Gift of The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology Photo: Matt Flynn

Anglo-Japanesque design. Full width of a paper giving nearly two full repeats of a design composed of larger and smaller enframed motifs: views of Brooklyn Bridge (opened 1883), Niagara Falls, a ferry slip, a Western road, and vases and jars. Printed in greens, browns, red and gold. — Sidewall, Japonaiserie, 1883-85 Manufactured by W.N. Peak (Brooklyn, New York, USA) Machine-printed on continuous paper 75 x 48.5 cm (29 1/2 x 19 1/8 in.) Gift of Grace Lincoln Temple, 1938-62-18 Photo: Matt Flynn

Creating your own utopia in the Immersion Room

Cooper Hewitt houses the largest collection of wallcoverings in the United States—ten thousand pieces—dating from the seventeenth century to the present. The museum’s Immersion Room encourages visitors to browse the wallcoverings digitally, projecting them onto the walls of the room, recreating the immersive physical experience intended by the designer. With the Pen, visitors can draw their own designs and see them spanning the walls floor to ceiling.

Special thanks

The Immersion Room installation and digital experience at the London Design Biennale is made possible by the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian National Board.

Supported by
Cooper Hewitt’s digital experience in the U.S. is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Bloomberg Connects Program, a global initiative that helps cultural institutions innovate and engage audiences through digital platforms.

Additional support is provided by Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee.

Installation wallpaper is provided by Flavor Paper and Osborne & Little.
Display platform is provided by Hadley Exhibits.