Sketching the Surface: Exploring the New York School of Interior Design Archives and Contemporary Pattern Design explores the legacy of 20th-century pattern designs from the NYSID Archives—fabric, rugs, carpets, wall coverings, tiles—created by Joann Nelsen, Joe Martin, Joseph Grusczak, and Inez Croom. Their fabric, rugs, carpets, wall coverings, and tiles will be featured alongside contemporary works designed by Dan Funderburgh, Jeanetta Gonzales, Li Iordanov Dan, and Andrew Raftery. The show celebrates the enduring impact of pattern in design.

Together, these materials illustrate the iterative and interconnected nature of pattern design—a discipline that resonates with interior design in its concern for the visual and spatial qualities of "the surface." Process drawings, renderings, and finished manufactured works are on display, offering insight into the creative processes that remain central to many design practices today. Historical pattern books and reference material from the NYSID Library will also be featured. Visitors to the exhibit will be invited to participate in interactive programming, a workshop, and other public programs where they can explore how patterns are conceived and applied. 

The exhibition is not a chronological or exhaustive history of pattern design; rather, this exhibition invites visitors to engage with the richness of the NYSID Archives and Library on their own terms: to wander, observe overlaps and intersections, take pleasure and delight in the work presented—and drawing from the past, imagine new possibilities for design.

NYSID Gallery
170 E. 70th Street, NYC

September 26, 2025-April 2, 2026 

Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm 

Admission to the gallery is free and no reservation is needed. From January 2– 20 and March 9-15 the gallery hours are 9–5 pm Monday–Friday and it will be closed on the weekends. The gallery is closed on October 2, November 26–November 30, December 20-January 1, January 19, February 16, and March 14.