Swid Powell
Swid Powell was a New York City–based design company founded in 1982 by Nan Swid and Addie Powell. Best known for its innovative tableware and decorative objects, the company collaborated with many of the world's leading architects and designers—including Frank Gehry, Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, Richard Meier, Zaha Hadid, and Ettore Sottsass—to create objects that blended postmodern design with everyday function.
Although Swid Powell is most closely associated with porcelain, silver, and glass, the company also produced a limited number of jewelry and wearable design pieces. Like its tabletop collections, these works reflected the bold, architectural aesthetic that defined postmodern design during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Production ceased in the mid-1990s, but Swid Powell's designs remain highly collectible. Today, the company's work can be found in major museum collections, including the Yale University Art Gallery, which houses the Swid Powell archives and an extensive collection of its designs.
Although Swid Powell is most closely associated with porcelain, silver, and glass, the company also produced a limited number of jewelry and wearable design pieces. Like its tabletop collections, these works reflected the bold, architectural aesthetic that defined postmodern design during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Production ceased in the mid-1990s, but Swid Powell's designs remain highly collectible. Today, the company's work can be found in major museum collections, including the Yale University Art Gallery, which houses the Swid Powell archives and an extensive collection of its designs.
