Russel Wright and the Modesty of Good Design

Quite honestly, I had never heard of Russel Wright, but I knew his work when I saw it. The most familiar items were the Melmac dishes, followed by the spun aluminum pieces.

A new exhibition of his work just opened at the Goldstein Gallery at the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. It's definitely worth a visit. Here are some photos.


A sectional sofa. Not sure how many of these had been designed before Wright did this one.


Ceramic clocks with raised numbers.


Fabrics from among the collection shown in the exhibit.


Wright's American Modern line of dishware is showcased on a picnic table which looks, as the exhibit book says, "as it may have appeared on the outdoor patio of Wright's home and studio on East 48th Street in New York."


Wine carafes (left) and a coffee pot from the American Modern line. Those wine carafes are so funky!


Melmac dishes, originally introduced in 1953, won MoMA's Good Design Award.

Also of note was the fact that Wright traveled to Japan in the 1950s and was very influential on Japanese industrial and product design, helping to change what had until then been a negative association with the phrase "Made in Japan."

The photos and plans for Wright's house in Garrison, New York, were inspiring. Named Manitoga, the land on which it stands was once a stone quarry, until Wright changed it into a Japanese-influenced natural woodland. The house itself is both modernist and Japanese in style. I'd like to go visit it one day, but until then I'll have to content myself with a visit to the website of the Russel Wright Center, which is housed at Manitoga.

For more on the Russel Wright exhibit (with photos of the full exhibit from its other venues) see livingwithgooddesign.org.