Nassau County Art Museum unveils ‘Deco at 100’

The Nassau County Museum of Art’s new exhibit, “Deco at 100,” opens on Jan. 18, showcasing paintings, furniture, fashion and sculptures that capture the decorative art movement of the 1920s.

“We really wanted to make it a multi-disciplinary show,” Assistant Curator Alex Maccaro said.

Chief Curator Franklin Hill Perrell said the exhibit celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Art Deco movement, which was launched by the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts.

“There are going to be worldwide celebrations and acknowledgments about the 100th anniversary,” Hill Perrell said.

He said the Art Deco movement brought design to everyday items such as buildings, wallpapers, ceramics and furniture. 

The museum spoke with the Art Deco Society of New York while curating the exhibit, he said. The exhibit will be a “feast for the eyes” with over 170 works on display, Maccaro said. 

“On the centennial of the exhibition, we hope to show its legacy and its impact on society today,” Maccaro said. “We would just like to commemorate this groundbreaking style in modern art.”

Between fashion, furniture, ceramics, sculptures and paintings, the new exhibit features something for everyone, Maccaro said.

“It’s going to feature some names, it’s going to feature some color, it’s going to feature a lot of razzle-dazzle,” Maccaro said.

The museum will display a wide variety, including original furniture from the 1925 Parisian showcase, lamps by Louis Comfort Tiffany, shoes designed for Judy Garland in 1938 and Picasso paintings.

Hill Perrell said the museum excels at curating mixed-media showcases like this one.

“I think our visitors will really enjoy the feast for the eyes that all of these different media and artworks will offer them,” Maccaro said.

The museum uses these different mediums to look at the relationship between art within the time period, Hill Perrell said.

“We’re exploring the relationship and the interplay between the fine arts and the decorative arts,” he said.

Last year, the museum displayed “Our Gilded Age,” which included a similar variety of artwork. Maccaro said the exhibit was a “major success.”

However, the variety of work is not the only thing the two exhibits have in common. Hill Perrell said the Art Deco movement began shortly after the Gilded Age ended, which creates continuity between the two exhibits.

“The Deco topic follows through where that one leaves off,” he said. 

Hill Perrell said the new exhibition is similar to last year’s fan-favorite, but with a “modern spin.”

“In a way, it continues it, but it really deals with the introduction of modernism into the attitude of the decorative arts,” he said.

In addition to celebrating the movement’s 100th anniversary, the exhibit will explore the cultural impact of Long Island’s Roaring Twenties and Jazz Age. Hill Perrell said the museum will examine the Gold Coast’s social scene.

To bring a local focus to the exhibit, a gallery will be dedicated to the work of Long Island artist F. Edwin Church. Hill Perrell said Church is a 20th-century painter who brought an “art deco twist” to his body of work.

“This is going to be an artist who is not necessarily familiar to the public, who they will love,” he said.

The exhibit opens on Jan. 18 and will run until June 15. For more information, visit nassaumuseum.org.