Glenn Adamson is an American curator, author, and historian whose research and work focuses on the intersections of design, craft, and contemporary art. Adamson is currently Editor-at-Large of The Magazine Antiques, Editor of Journal of Modern Craft, and a freelance writer and curator. Adamson has held previous notable appointments as the Director of the Museum of Arts and Design, Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and as Curator at the Chipstone Foundation.
From 2013 to 2016 Glenn Adamson served as the Nanette L. Laitman Director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, NY. Adamson's hire at the Museum of Arts and Design came as a somewhat surprise. Previously, Adamson had been a critic of the museum, using a 2011 review of the exhibition The Global Africa Project in the magazine Art in America to critique the institution itself. Adamson's critiques included the architecture of the museum's new building and their gallery layouts, the 2002 name change, and the "incoherent execution" of exhibitions. Holly Hotchner, director of the Museum of Arts and Design from 1996 to 2013, responded to Adamson's critiques in a letter to the editor of Art in America in 2011 where she defended many of the topics Adamson critiqued. In spite of this previous tension, the museum found Adamson to be the "most exciting candidate" when searching for Hotchner's replacement in 2013. In 2016, when Adamson stepped down from his post as Director at the Museum of Arts and Design, the museum stated:
"During his tenure, Dr. Adamson led the institution through a period of significant growth of its programming and resources, and built a new leadership team. Dr. Adamson spearheaded an exhibitions program that explored and expanded MAD’s unique mission and role in the arts ecology of New York and the nation, including NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial; Ralph Pucci: The Art of the Mannequin; Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft, and Design, Midcentury and Today; Wendell Castle Remastered; Studio Job: MAD HOUSE; and Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years. Dr. Adamson created the position of Windgate Research Curator, in collaboration with the Bard Graduate Center, to further enhance the scholarship of MAD’s publications and exhibitions. He also expanded MAD’s noted artist-in-residence program by engaging younger artists from traditionally under-represented communities, through an initiative funded by a grant from the New York Community Trust."
From 2005 to 2013 Glenn Adamson served as the Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert Museum. During his time there, Adamson published several books and essays, as well as co-curated the exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990 along with Jane Pavitt. Adamson was also a key proponent in initiating the "Rapid Response Unit" of the V&A, where contemporary objects like 3D printed guns and "pussy hats" are added to the museum's collection quickly in direct response to contemporary culture.
Chipstone Foundation
Glenn Adamson served as Curator for the Chipstone Foundation from 2000-2005. The Chipstone Foundation focuses on the study, preservation, and championing of American material culture with heavy emphases on the decorative arts. This mission can be seen reflected in Adamson's work there, where he curated such historically American focused exhibitions as Skin Deep: Three Masters of American Inlay and Tea Table Coffee Table. In addition to his curatorial work, Adamson also made regular contributions to the Chipstone's journals American Furniture and Ceramics in America.
Weaving Together the Story of a Forgotten Pop Artist and Her Rugs
Normal Design
Silver Spoons
The Complexity Complex
Demo Job: Craft, Art, and the Politics of Demonstration
Summer Work: The Art of Pae White
Issues & Commentary: Tsunami Africa
The American Arcanum: Porcelain and the Alchemical Tradition
Mannerism in Early American Furniture: Connoisseurship, Intention, and Theatricality
The Politics of the Caned Chair
The Furniture of Sam Maloof
The Journal of Modern Craft
The Journal of Modern Craft is a peer reviewed academic journal focused on interdisciplinary writings on the topics of design, craft, art, architecture, and related fields. The journal is published by Taylor & Francis, and releases three issues a year. The editorial board consists of Glenn Adamson ; Tanya Harrod, Independent Scholar ; Edward S. Cooke Jr., Yale University ; Stephen Knott, Kingston University ; Elissa Auther, Windgate Research Curator, Bard Graduate Center and Center for Craft, Creativity and Design ; Jenni Sorkin, University of California. The journal is funded in part by the Windgate Charitable Foundation and The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, with Joseph McBrinn, University of Ulster as the Book Review Editor, and Namita Wiggers, Museum of Contemporary Craft as the Exhibition Review Editor.
