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Gallery To Showcase Exhibitions In Contemporary Design
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Lieutenant-Governor Mary O. Donohue were joined today by Steuben President and Chief Executive Officer Marie McKee and Corning Incorporated Chairman Roger Ackerman to celebrate the opening of Steuben's new 6,100-square-foot flagship store at 667 Madison Avenue and 61st Street in the heart of New York City's luxury shopping district.
The ribbon cutting today also celebrated the opening of the Corning Incorporated Gallery. The Gallery, which will occupy 2,500-square-feet - or forty percent - of the Steuben store, will feature temporary exhibitions in contemporary design and will be open free to the public.
"Today marks a new beginning for one of New York's most distinctive stores, and a new chapter in one of New York's oldest art forms - glassmaking," said Mayor Giuliani. "Steuben's elevation of glass to the level of artwork has made its store a destination for New Yorkers, tourists and visiting heads of state.
"Today we celebrate the opening of a new Steuben flagship store, fit for a new century," the Mayor continued. "This area of Madison Avenue is known all over the world as a premier location for luxury items, and Steuben is a tremendous new addition to the stores of Madison Avenue. In addition, Steuben's decision to devote space to the Corning Incorporated Gallery will further enrich the cultural life of New Yorkers. On behalf of all New Yorkers I am pleased to welcome Steuben to Madison Avenue."
Steuben first opened its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in 1934. The new store was designed by Ralph Appelbaum, creator of the exhibitions for the recently opened Rose Center for Earth and Science at The American Museum of Natural History.
"Our store has always been a showplace for the qualities that make Steuben unique," said Marie McKee. "Each work of Steuben embodies a tradition - the highest standard of hand craftsmanship - wed to modern technology and design. This move, from Fifth Avenue to 667 Madison Avenue, keeps our retailing as contemporary as the objects themselves. Visitors to the store will discover a Steuben that's as timeless as always, presented in a new setting as a fresh experience."
The Corning Incorporated Gallery, which has the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of glass, will dedicate a portion of each year's schedule to exhibitions organized by The Corning Museum of Glass and curated by Tina Oldknow, the Museum's Curator of Modern Glass. The Gallery will also invite a wide range of other organizations in the arts and education to propose exhibitions of contemporary art, in glass or in other media.
The inaugural exhibition, Celebrating By Design, was co-organized with DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. On view from May 18 through July 8, the exhibition will bring together Steuben glass with leading designers in the fields of architecture, fashion, home accessories and theater. The exhibition features eight large-scale vignettes by leading American designers including Avi Adler and Kate Spade, Richard Meier, David Rockwell, Courtney Sloane, Ali Tayer, Adam Tihany and Nathan S. Joseph, Isabel and Reuben Toledo, and Eric W. Warner.
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