Biography
Marc Newson has been described as one of the most influential designers of his generation. Over the course of an illustrious career, he has worked across an extremely wide range of disciplines, and his clients include some of the best-known and most prestigious brands in the world spanning diverse sectors from furniture, luxury goods, and technology, to marine, automotive, and aviation design.
Born in Sydney, Australia in 1963, Newson has lived and worked in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and presently resides in the UK where his company, Marc Newson Limited, has been based since 1997. He has fostered ongoing relationships with companies such as Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Hermès, Nike, Dom Pérignon, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Ferrari to name a few. In 2021, Newson delivered M/Y Solaris (11,250 GT), his first complete exterior and interior superyacht design, and he is currently finalising the 6,500 GT superyacht Nausicaä. As well as overseeing his own company, he has held senior positions at clients’ companies, having been Creative Director of Qantas Airways from 2005-2015, and Designer for Special Projects at Apple since his first involvement in the design of the ‘Apple Watch’. In 2019, Marc and Sir Jonathan Ive founded the creative collective LoveFrom.
Marc Newson studied Fine Art at Sydney University and with the aid of an Australian Crafts Council grant, he staged his first solo exhibition in 1986 at the age of 23. He began his career hand-making furniture and timepieces in a workshop in Sydney; early designs included the Super Guppy Lamp and Pod of Drawers, along with the Embryo Chair and Wood Chair, both of which have been in continuous production since their inception. By the age of 25, Newson had created the Lockheed Lounge, a riveted aluminium chaise longue that has arguably become one of the most iconic contemporary design works. Some 30 years later, it has set four world record prices at auction for work created by a living designer. His design pieces are highly sought after on the secondary market, accounting for a sizeable portion of auction sales in the contemporary design category for Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips.
Newson is the only industrial designer represented by the Gagosian Gallery, and is also represented in Paris by Galerie kreo who is compiling his catalogue raisonné. Solo retrospective exhibitions of his work have been hosted by leading museums around the world.
Additionally, his work is presented in the permanent collections of many major museums including: The Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum and V&A Museum (London), Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou and Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein), Museum Angewandte Kunst (Frankfurt), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Museu do Design e da Moda (Lisbon), Israel Museum (Jerusalem), Powerhouse Museum (Sydney), and the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne).
As a long-term supporter of (RED), the charity co-founded by Bono, Newson together with Ive curated a design auction in 2013 which raised a staggering $46 million (USD) for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Since then, he has worked with clients to turn several of his designs ‘red’ in support of the charity.
Newson’s work has been featured widely in books and publications around the world and there are four monographs to date most notably the encyclopaedic ‘Marc Newson Works 84-24’ published by Taschen (2024). He has been the subject of various radio and television programmes including an interview on PBS on Charlie Rose, BBC’s Imagine ‘Marc Newson Urban Spaceman’, Objects of Desire on Sky Arts, and ‘Objectified’, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit. In 2013, Newson spoke at TEDxSydney, and each year since 2011 he has joined the judging committee at Cartier Style et Luxe, Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Newson has been included in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and has received numerous industry awards and distinctions. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Sydney University and the Royal College of Art, has held Adjunct Professorships at Sydney University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and was appointed RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) by the Royal Society of Arts. In 2012, he was awarded CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
