Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde

September 28, 2023–February 25, 2024
Poster of a screaming face surrounded by telephone wires.

The term “Art Deco” did not exist until the 1960s. Prior to that, the geometric, bold, machine-focused style now collectively packaged within that genre was known by many names, representing a variety of regional versions of Modernism. This exhibition chronicles the rise and fall of what would come to be known as Art Deco, starting with the 1925 Paris Exhibition where various factions of the European avant-garde were distilled through commercial endeavors to become the visual language of capitalism, and ending as Deco graphics became more nationalistic in the lead up to World War II.

This exhibition features over 50 posters by enduring masters of graphic design, including A.M. Cassandre, Charles Loupot, Marcello Nizzoli, Jean Dupas, Herbert Matter, Jean Carlu, Paul Colin, René Vincent, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Austin Cooper, Pierre Fix-Masseau, and Joseph Binder.

This exhibition comes to Poster House through a generous loan from William W. Crouse. 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

Curator
Angelina Lippert
Exhibition Design
Ola Baldych
Located
Poster House, Main Gallery
Visitor Information
Allot approximately 1 hour
Parental Guidance
This exhibition is rated G
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Press

“The exhibition design takes inspiration from the colors and patterns used throughout Art Deco posters, and is constructed to create lines of vision across wall, floor, and sculptural elements.”
— AIGA, AUGUST 20, 2024
“On this milestone occasion, our three incredible juries collectively selected over 200 submissions to be enshrined in the TDC’s archives”
— THE TYPE DIRECTORS CLUB, APRIL 24, 2024
“These modernist works entered museums as objects, not government as ideas.”
— THE BROOKLYN RAIL, MARCH 14, 2024
“The walls are decked out with 150 Art Deco posters—an impressive, extensive and pricey collection. At the moment, 60 of them are on display at an exhibit at the Poster House Museum in Manhattan.”
— SARASOTA MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 3, 2023
“…the first museum exhibit to bring together over 50 commercial posters created between the late 1920s and the dawn of World War II.”
— DIGITAL PARTY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023
“…more than 50 works that that tells the story how colorful, geometric advertisements led to the first global art movement.”
— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, OCTOBER 24, 2023
“I have no husband, I have no cat, I have posters.”
— NEW YORK REVIEW OF ARCHITECTURE, OCTOBER 13, 2023
“Another Poster Spectacular at Poster House”
— THE DAILY HELLER, OCTOBER 5, 2023
“Deco Spotlight”
— CHICAGO ART DECO SOCIETY MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023
“The exhibition…seeks to investigate these deeper origins, and includes over 50 posters from artists and graphic designers…”
— AIR MAIL, SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
“These museums spend years creating exhibitions by building relationships with collectors, institutions, experts, and scholars to present material that educates and informs the public.”
— ARTSGAZING, AUGUST 30, 2023
“Angelina Lippert, Poster House’s Chief Curator and Director of Content, described the show as ‘the first global history of Art Deco posters hosted at a museum.’”
— THE NEW YORK TIMES, AUGUST 31, 2023
“Poster House in New York City is hosting a show of commercial Art Deco posters from around the globe.”
— ARTDAILY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
“A curated collection chronicling Art Deco’s evolution from avant-garde commercialism to World War II nationalism, this exhibition features more than 50 posters by master graphic designers that exemplify the rise and decline of the European art and design movement.”
— HYPERALLERGIC, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Selected Images

Poster of a faceless man wearing gloves, putting on glasses.
Lithographic poster of a minimal female face smoking a cigarette.
Lithographic poster of a silhouette of a man smashing a hammer against an anvil with sparks flying.
Lithographic poster of three train silhouettes stacked together in pastel colors.
Lithographic poster of a geometric man in a top hat smoking a cigarette.
Poster of a fat and thin waiter, one red the other white.
Lithographic poster of a fancy couple looking through a showroom window at a luxury car.
Poster of a screaming face surrounded by telephone wires.