San José Museum of Art

See what you think.

Blobjects & Beyond: The New Fluidity in Design

  • A photograph of a building with a spaceship shaped structure. It is wrapped in an outer layer of perforated metal that unites the building from afar. There are trees and grass surrounding the building, making it appear idyllic.

    National Space Center, 2001, Oliver Bridge, King Chong, Florian Eames, Matthew Eastwood, Jason Embley, Nick Grimshaw, Jim King, Andrew McConachie, Christopher Nash, David Portman, Steve Ritchie, Eva Scheffler of Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, London.

  • A silver stainless steel lounge chair with air holes throughout its shape. It looks like a helium balloon, soft despite its metal material.

    Marc Newson, Lockheed Lounge, 1986-1988. Riveted sheet aluminum over fiberglass, rubber; 25 x 35 x 60 in. Collection of Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.

  • Rex Ray, New Water, 1999. Digital Iris print, 33 x 42 inches.

  • Andreu Osika, Duane Smith of Vessel, Candeloo, 2003. Polycarbonate exterior; 2½ x 6½ in. Courtesy of Vessel.

  • Cory Ness, Curvaceousness Motorcycle, 1999. Hand-built aluminum body, custom machine billet parts, high-gloss, hand-rubbed parts; 2½ x 9½ x 2 ft; Collection of Arlen Ness.

    –

    Blobjects & Beyond: The New Fluidity in Design marked SJMA’s first exhibition devoted to industrial design. The exhibition gathered its energy from the premise that blobjects (a contraction of “blobby objects”) have become the defining products of the new millennium—the best examples of what is considered cool-looking and compellingly curvaceous.

    Corporate Sponsors for this exhibition included Deutsche Bank and frog design, inc.

     

    Media Sponsors:
    Surface Magazine (Official Media Sponsor)
    Wired Magazine
    SFSTATION.COM
    KQED

    Sponsors

    • Deutsche Bank
    • frog design, inc.