Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2018–2020

I designed this exhibition with curators Emily Stoehrer, Nonie Gadsden and Meghan Melvin, and graphic designer, Nick Pioggia.

Reacting to industrialization, there was a renaissance of hand-craftsmanship in Boston at the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition highlighted the “Boston look” of Arts and Crafts jewelry and metalwork that emerged during this time.

The exhibition included 75 works, including jewelry, tableware, accessories and design drawings in a compact 600 square foot gallery.

Color and material

Because of the small scale of the gallery, a dark and rich paint color helped create a feeling of intimacy and allows the cases stand out and shine against a dark backdrop, making the whole room feel like a jewel box.

The cases were made of metal or painted wood, with thin frames to match the delicacy of the work. Stained wood details were brought in into the space with seating and as part of the text panel to add warmth and a sense of materiality to the space.

Layout

In order to fit many objects and themes into a compact space, the perimeter of the gallery was lined with casework, highlighting a new theme on each wall. In the center were two low table cases where a three dimensional objects could be seen in the round.

Case design and lighting

The cases around the perimeter acted like small display windows, inviting close looking. Each case was wired with small magnetic spotlights hidden below, behind the labels, and above, on the case’s metal frame, to allow each piece to be spotlit without light bleed outside of the case.