Stefan Sagmeister, Lou Reed, 1996
He’s provocative, restless, fearless. He’s designed album covers for the Rolling Stones and David Byrne, books for Lou Reed and BMW, brand identities for cultural institutions like the Guggenheim, furniture and watches. He has authored more than half-dozen books, won Grammys, directed a documentary film, and mounted exhibitions all over the world. A pioneer of contemporary design whose work feels tailor-made for today’s media landscape in its tension between digital and analog, Stefan Sagmeister has done it all. And he’s not done yet.
This fall, School of Visual Arts will mount “The Masters Series: Stefan Sagmeister,” a major career retrospective part of the College’s long-running award and exhibition series honoring great visual communicators of our time. Like many past recipients, Sagmeister may be something of a design-world “celebrity,” but might otherwise be unrecognized by the general public. This exhibition, which will span more than three decades of his varied and storied career, aims to change that. It will offer the most intimate glimpse yet into his creative process through numerous sketchbooks and notes, plus facets from every “era” of his journey as a designer and artist. Crucially, his exploration of how to find happiness and joy in everyday life functions as an antidote to trying times.
Stefan Sagmeister, Darwin Chair, 2010, laminated Tyvek, stainless steel, epoxy
“It is a true pleasure to receive this award and to see decades of my work exhibited at my very favorite art school in New York City,” Sagmeister says. “Bringing together all of the different facets of my career for people to enjoy and interact with at SVA, where I had the privilege of teaching for many years, is especially meaningful. It’ll be a whole lot of fun.”
“The Masters Series: Stefan Sagmeister” will incorporate multiple “eras” of the artist’s long and storied career, with more than three decades of sketchbooks, many posters including ones commissioned by SVA as part of the College’s Subway Poster series, and design work dating back to the late 1980s.
Stefan Sagmeister, AIGA New Orleans, 1997
“The Masters Series: Stefan Sagmeister” is on view August 29 through October 12 at the SVA Chelsea Gallery in the iconic Starrett Lehigh building on W 26th St.
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