Tools As Art: The Hechinger Collection

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Ivan Chermayeff, Untitled, 1978
kodalith print
36 x 36 in.

Ivan Chermayeff was born in London in 1932. He studied at Harvard University, the Institute of Design, Chicago, and Yale University's School of Art, where he received his degree in 1955. A graphic designer, painter, illustrator, and photographer, Chermayeff is a founding partner of the graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar, Inc., New York. He has received numerous awards, including the Industrial Art Medal from the American Institute of Architects and the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Graphic Artists. His paintings, collages, and illustrations have been exhibited throughout the world, including the Soviet Union, Europe, and Japan. His well-known design projects include the United States exhibit pavilions at Expo '67 and '70 and corporate logos for IBM, Mobil, Westinghouse, and the National Parks Service. He has served on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art and the Archives of American ARt, National Museum of American Art. Chermayeff created a series of kodalithographs for the Hechinger Company, photographing tools, hardware, and lumber in the company warehouse, then enlarging and cropping the images, where he printed in high contrast. Removed from their usual context, the subjects become explorations of pattern, texture, light, and dark.