November 21, 2009 marked an opening night for Marcel Wander’s Daydreams exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wanders, elected Designer of the Year 2005/2006 at the Elle Decoration International Design Awards and named ’the design world’s favorite star’ by the Washington Post received Collab’s Design Excellence Award on November 21.  The exhibition is sponsored by Collab, a collaboration of design professionals and enthusiasts supporting the modern an contemporary design collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is hosted in the 2300 square-foot Gollab Gallery through June 13, 2010.  Thanks to the generosity of Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer, the Collab Gallery stands as the first permanent gallery for modern and contemporary design in the Museum’s history.

 

The anticipated Mr. Wander’s “Happy Hour Chandelier” was eagerly received.  A performance piece featuring award-wining choreographer and dancer Naninne Linning who descended through the chandelier and poured champagne for assembled guests kept the audience applauding till the bottles were emptied.  And then on to the exhibit that featured some of Wander’s most essential works, including: Knotted Chair, Bell Big Ben Bianco, Clavin, Lucky One, Extra Big Shadow Floor Lamp, Moosehead, Crochet Chair, New Antiques Chair, and Blow Lamp.  As Wanders continues to expand the scope of his work, he takes on significant assignments, such as the “Thor” restaurant project at the Hotel on Rivington in New York, the Lute Suites, converting a row of 17th -century Amsterdam houses into hotel rooms, and the Mondrian South Beach hotel in Miami.  Wonders has said: “ I want to make work that looks into the future, but also back to the past.  I want to use new techniques, but also reintroduce that lost quality of beauty.”

 

In addition to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Wander’s work has been exhibited and collected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Central Museum in Utrecht, and the Museum of Decorative Arts Copenhagen. His clients include B&B Italia, Bisazza, Cappellini, Flos, Google, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swarovski, Target
and Mooi. 

 

"Since the beginning of my career, I have tried to open hearts of people and inspire them to make their lives into masterpieces. This exhibition shows some highlights of my work in a specially created Philly dreamscape. I hope the exhibit will educate, entertain, and above all, inspire those who visit, to dream." Marcel Wanders, September 2009