The Sky is Far from the Limit for the Feted Designer

"If you have a big enough engine, you can go anywhere,” says Australian designer Marc Newson. He’s talking about flying, but his words typify his limitless creative ambition—in the course of his career his projects have included everything from a space jet to a champagne box, a mobile phone to a recording studio (not to mention many, many beautiful chairs and covetable pieces for the home). Newson’s work, driven by a sleek, biomorphic visual signature, has won him batches of accolades since he first exhibited his work in Sydney in 1984, including seven Good Design Awards from The Chicago Atheneaum. In 1997 he founded Marc Newson Ltd in London, embarking on commissions from companies as diverse as B&B Italia and Ford, while in the mid 2000s, after designing a series of plane interiors and first class lounges for Australian airline Qantas, he was named its Creative Director, a post he holds to this day; other clients include Boucheron and Azzedine Alaïa. For his latest show, Transport, at New York’s Gagosian gallery (through October 16), he shows off his vehicle designs: a reflective-metal tri-fin surfboard; a canary yellow and black jetpack; a wasp-like jet plane Newson built when Fondation Cartier offered him the opportunity to create whatever he liked for his 40th birthday. “It works in theory,” Newson says of the Kelvin40, named after a character from Andrei Tarkovski’s classic sci-fi movie Solaris. In today’s film, shot by Alison Chernick exclusively for NOWNESS, Newson ruminates on his work, surrounded by his wildest creations. Proving he can do luxe as well as lightspeed, he also hops into the $1.28 million cruiser boat he designed for august Italian brand Riva in a limited edition of 22 (Larry Gagosian's already got his). Learn more about Marc Newson's latest products here, and his incredible designs for space travel here.