Crafting Modernity: Design in Latin America, 1940–1980 exhibition at MoMA

Published July 25, 2025

Contributed by Jade Wang

Crafting Modernity: Design in Latin America, 1940–1980 looked closely at materials and methods of designers in Latin America who brought modernity to homes between 1940 and 1980, a period of dramatic political, economic, and social change. Objects included furniture, posters, textiles, and ceramics highlighting the work of pioneering designers—many of them women—as well as their sometimes conflicting visions for modern living.

We chose a bold, vibrant color palette for the title wall to capture the spirit of Latin American design and anchor the open gallery. The typography reflects rounded forms found in many of the exhibition objects.

Indoor/outdoor interplay is an important part of Latin American home design; we emphasized this with wallpapers featuring Latin American homes and garden spaces overlooking MoMA’s Sculpture Garden.

On the back wall of the gallery, we designed a 32-foot diagram that mapped the multidisciplinary, creative networks of six Latin American countries. We pulled out key figures and expanded on individual stories to further contextualize these complex connections.

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