Marc Newson is one of the most accomplished and influential designers of his generation. At 40, he has already worked across a wide range of disciplines to create everything from chairs, household objects, a bicycle and a concept car to restaurants, a recording studio and interiors of private and commercial jets, for clients based in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Newson spent his childhood travelling in Europe and Asia, before studying jewellery and sculpture at Sydney College of the Arts. He started experimenting with furniture design as a student and, after graduating in 1984, was awarded a grant from the Australian Crafts Council, and staged an exhibition – featuring the Lockheed Lounge – at the Roslyn Oxley Gallery in Sydney.

When the Japanese entrepreneur, Teruo Kurosaki, offered to put his designs into production, Newson moved to Tokyo, where he lived and worked from 1987 to 1991. Kurosaki’s company, Idée, manufactured such pieces as the Orgone Lounge, Black Hole Table and Felt Chair, which were widely exhibited in Asia and Europe.

Newson set up a studio in Paris in 1991, and won commissions from prestigious European manufacturers including Flos for lighting, Cappellini and Moroso for furniture. He formed a joint venture, the Ikepod Watch Company, to manufacture the watches he designed, and produced limited editions of aluminium furniture including the Event Horizon Table and Orgone Chair. During the mid-1990s, Newson also designed a series of restaurants – Coast in London, Manchester’s Mash & Air and Osman in Cologne – the interior of Syn, a Tokyo recording studio and a retail system for Belgian designer, Walter Von Beirendonck’s W.&L.T. street wear label.

In 1997, Newson moved to London, where he set up Marc Newson Ltd as a larger studio capable of tackling more ambitious industrial projects. He has since designed mass manufactured glassware for Iittala, kitchen and bathroom accessories for Alessi, furniture and household objects for Magis and B&B Italia. Newson has also designed numerous aircraft interiors such as a Falcon 900B private jet, bicycles for Denmark’s Biomega company and a concept car, the 021C for Ford. Current projects include the Lever House restaurant in New York, aircraft interiors and seats for Qantas, new luggage, cookware and bathroom ranges for companies like Ideal Standard and Tefal, a mobile telephone for Japan’s KDDI. Marc Newson has also been commissioned to design, in collaboration with the Woolmark Company, uniforms for the Australian Olympic Team due to be worn at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

As well as winning numerous awards, Newson has exhibited extensively. He created Bucky, a sculptural installation for the Fondation Cartier in Paris in 1995, and a major retrospective of his work was held at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney from August 2001 to February 2002.

Forthcoming exhibitions include ‘Project Kelvin-40’ at the Fondation Cartier in January 2004 (where Newson will present a new 2 seater private concept jet) and another major retrospective show starting at the Groninger museum in Holland in May 2004 and touring to London’s Design Museum later in that year.

Newson’s designs are part of most major permanent museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, London’s Design Museum, Musée national d’Art moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou and the Vitra Design Museum.

A book on Marc Newson’s work was published by Booth-Clibborn Editions in 1999, and another, by Universe Publishing, was launched in 2003.

Newson is Adjunct Professor in Design at Sydney College of the Arts.