Marc Newson has been described as the most influential designer of his generation.
He has worked across a wide range of disciplines, creating everything from furniture
and household objects to bicycles and cars, private and commercial aircraft, yachts,
various architectural commissions, and signature sculptural pieces for clients across
the globe.
Born in Sydney, Newson spent much of his childhood travelling in Europe
and Asia. He started experimenting with furniture design as a student and, after
graduation, was awarded a grant from the Australian Crafts Council with which he
staged his first exhibition - featuring the Lockheed Lounge – a piece that has now,
twenty years later, set three consecutive world records at auction.
Newson has lived
and worked in Tokyo, Paris, and London where he is now based, and he continues to
travel widely. His clients include a broad range of the best known and most prestigious
brands in the world - from manufacturing and technology to transportation, fashion
and the luxury goods sector. Many of his designs have been a runaway success for
his clients and have achieved the status of modern design icons. In addition to
his core business, he has also founded and run a number of successful companies,
including a fine watch brand and an aerospace design consultancy, and has also held
senior management positions at client companies; including currently being the Creative
Director of Qantas Airways.
Marc Newson was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most
Influential People in the World and has received numerous awards and distinctions.
He was appointed The Royal Designer for Industry in the UK, received an honorary
doctorate from Sydney University, holds Adjunct Professorships at Sydney College
of the Arts and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and most recently was created
CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
His work is present in many major museum
collections, including the MoMA in New York, London’s Design Museum and V&A, the
Centre Georges Pompidou and the Vitra Design Museum. Having set numerous records
at auction, Newson’s work now accounts for almost 25% of the total contemporary
design art market.
Newson has been the focus of on-going and intense interest in
the media, generating significant editorial value for his clients, and he has been
the subject of a number of books and documentary films.
He is married with two children.