Steven Rowe, Newton, N.H.

Shiseido and the Manufacture of Beauty at NYU

NEW YORK CITY – From September 15 to October 28, New York University Grey Art Gallery will present the exhibition “: Shiseido and the Manufacture of Beauty, 1900-2000,” examining the role of cosmetics in shipping and promoting ideals of beauty in the modern era.

Using materials drawn primarily from the remarkable archives of Shiseido – a global cosmetics corporation and a world-renowned innovator in design – “” will present more than 250 extraordinary prints, posters, photographs, product designs, advertisements, television commercials, and works of decorative and fine arts.

Together these objects tell a story of a century’s worth of changes in society and culture, both East and West. The exhibition is curated by Lynn Gumpert, director of the Grey Art Gallery. “” explores how the production and use of cosmetics illuminates some of the amazing cultural, social, and aesthetic changes that have taken place over the last century,” Gumpert says.

“Makeup is one means by which we can create or enhance identities, and Shiseido provides a particularly powerful lens through which we can see how this process has evolved,” she continues. “Not only is Shiseido a leading cosmetic company, but it is also – quite consciously – a cultural force, whose design department has from the very beginning promoted a modern life style, where the arts play an essential role. Shiseido’s spectacular graphics and product design reveal just how much the visual and commercial arts have always borrowed from each other.”

For information, 212/998-6780.