Press Room

New York, NY (August 1, 2013)

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) today announced that David Revere McFadden, the Museum’s William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator and VP of Collections and Programs, will retire from his position at the end of 2013. During his 16-year tenure, McFadden helped to shape the Museum’s unique mission and curatorial program, which explores materials and process across contemporary creation, and led the transformation of MAD into one of the most innovative contemporary art and design museums in the country. Under his leadership, the Museum’s collection has also expanded in scope and breadth into a far-reaching holding of art, craft, and design that illustrates imaginative approaches to transforming materials.

“After organizing more than 40 exhibitions at MAD, writing as many catalogues and articles, serving on the team that accomplished the move to our splendid new home on Columbus Circle, and having the opportunity to work with an exceptional group of contemporary artists and with a talented and dedicated staff to grow and develop our program, who could ask for more?” said McFadden. “I am proud to have been a part of this amazing enterprise and look forward to seeing what the next years will bring.”

“David has brought to MAD an incredible curatorial vision, breaking new ground for the institution. He has made a lasting impact in the cultural world through his cutting-edge exhibitions, including Slash and Otherworldly, which spotlighted the renaissance of traditional techniques and materials by contemporary practitioners from around the world,” said Lewis Kruger, Chairman of the Board of the Museum. “His legacy to MAD and the field is immense, and all of us at MAD are grateful for his extraordinary contributions and vision. On behalf of the Board and staff, I’d like to thank him for all that he has brought to MAD and to countless Museum visitors.”

McFadden plans to pursue independent curatorial and writing projects, beginning in 2014, such as Inspired, opening in spring 2014 at MAD. Inspired will explore the origins of the artistic impulse, bringing together more than 100 new, recent, and never-before-seen works acquired since MAD’s move to its home at Columbus Circle five years ago.

McFadden joined the Museum in 1997 as Chief Curator and Vice President for Programs and Collections. During his tenure at MAD, McFadden spearheaded the “Materials and Process” exhibition series—including such exhibitions as Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting (2007), Pricked: Extreme Embroidery (2008), Slash: Paper Under the Knife (2009), Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities (2011), and Swept Away: Ashes, Dust, and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design (2012)—which explored the renewed use of traditional and unexpected materials and techniques in contemporary art and design. Also in this series was Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary (2008), which inaugurated MAD’s new home at Columbus Circle and broke all attendance records for the institution. Another “Materials and Process” exhibition Dead or Alive: Nature Becomes Art (2010), co-curated with MAD’s Charles Bronfman International Curator Lowery Stokes-Sims, was awarded Best Architecture and Design Show by the United States branch of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA-USA) in March 2011.

Among the more than 120 exhibitions curated by McFadden at MAD and other institutions have been significant surveys in the world of art, craft, and design including: L’Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France 1789-1989, a comprehensive survey of French creativity organized in celebration of the bicentennial of the French Republic; Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, which studied the social and material culture of wine throughout history; Hair, a landmark exploration of the visual and design history of human hair; Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, co-curated by Ellen Napiura Taubman, a three-part exhibition series showcasing innovative and non-traditional work by native artists (2002, 2005, and 2012).

In his tenure at MAD, McFadden helped grow the permanent collection, which encompasses traditional forms of craftsmanship as well as works of art and design created with innovative new materials and processes, such as digital media and cutting-edge design technologies.  Highlights from the collection include: one of the most important collections of art jewelry in the country, with notable holdings of early studio work by Arthur Smith and Margaret de Patta; design objects by internationally recognized leaders in the field, including Paul Cocksedge, Hella Jongerius, Nendo, and Marcel Wanders; works by leading artists in American sculptural ceramics, including Robert Arneson, Ruth Duckworth, Peter Voulkos, and Betty Woodman; and wood and furniture by legendary designers such as Wharton Esherick and George Nakashima, and by a new generation of artists working in wood.

For his work in cultural affairs, McFadden has been named Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland (1984); Knight Commander of the Order of the Polar Star of Sweden by King Gustaf VI (1988); and Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France (1989). Three of McFadden's exhibition projects and/or catalogues were awarded the Presidential Design Award for Excellence (1994, 1995, and 1997).

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design explores the intersection between art, design, and craft today. The Museum focuses on contemporary creativity and the ways in which artists and designers from around the world transform materials through processes ranging from the artisanal to digital. The Museum’s exhibition program explores and illuminates issues and ideas, highlights creativity and craftsmanship, and celebrates the limitless potential of materials and techniques when used by gifted and innovative artists. MAD’s permanent collection is global in scope and focuses on art, craft, and design from 1950 to the present day. At the center of the Museum's mission is education. The Museum’s dynamic new facility features classrooms and studios for master classes, seminars, and workshops for students, families, and adults. Three open artist studios engage visitors in the creative processes of artists at work and enhance the exhibition programs. Lectures, films, performances, and symposia related to the Museum’s collection and topical subjects affecting the world of contemporary art, craft, and design are held in a renovated 144-seat auditorium. 

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