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Object Timeline

1989

  • Work on this object began.

1990

  • Work on this object ended.

2009

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2013

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Designs for Flatware, including Axis

This is a Drawing. It was designed by Gerald Gulotta. It is dated 1989–90 and we acquired it in 2009. Its medium is graphite, ballpoint pen and red, black ink on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

In this preparatory drawing, filled with a variety of sketches, the industrial designer Gerald Gulotta explores the idea of twisting a knife’s blade and handle and also explores the concept with several designs for forks.
Gulotta became an established freelance designer of ceramics, glassware, and cutlery during the 1960s and 70s. His sleek, slender, and elegant tabletop designs look as contemporary today as they did at the height of his career.
At the time of proposed acquisition, the museum hold sheets of Gulotta’s designs for ceramics, glassware, and silver, many of which relate to three-dimensional objects in the museum’s collection. While the museum holds examples of Gulotta flatware patterns (including Axis, Chromatics, España, Eros, Iona, and Rondure), this drawing, part of a larger group of drawings proposed for acquisition, would be among the first works on paper connected to Gulotta flatware in the museum’s collection. Seen together with the related patterns in the collection, these drawings are invaluable documents for understanding Gulotta’s working process for designing cutlery.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A glimpse into Gerald Gulotta's design process.

This object was donated by Gerald Gulotta. It is credited Gift of Gerald Gulotta.

Its dimensions are

Sheet: 29.6 x 21 cm (11 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Designs for Flatware, including Axis; Designed by Gerald Gulotta (American, 1921 - 2018); USA; graphite, ballpoint pen and red, black ink on paper; Sheet: 29.6 x 21 cm (11 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.); Gift of Gerald Gulotta; 2009-16-16

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18730673/ |title=Drawing, Designs for Flatware, including Axis |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=24 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>