ArtTalk – Joshua Lessard

Joshua Lessard, Director of Exhibitions at the Michener Art Museum, joins us on ArtTalk to discuss the international influence of Noémi and Antonin Raymond. The Raymonds' international careers, which spanned from the 1910s through the 1970s, included practicing architecture in addition to designing furniture, lighting and textile designs, as well as ceramics, flatware, and ironwork. Working between their Japan and New York offices, the Raymonds established one of the most avant-garde design studios in the world.  In Japan, Antonin would eventually become known as the “Father of Modern Architecture.” Their legacy is continued at The Raymond Farm Center for Living Arts & Design.

In 1937, with war looming in Japan and Europe, the Raymonds returned their practice to New York and set up a summer studio/home on an 18th C.Quaker farm in Bucks County. Dubbed “the New Hope Experiment,” the Raymond Farm served as a live/work atelier that taught practical design solutions. Here, the Raymond Farm apprentices would learn by working in the studio, while also assisting in the farm work itself.  During the summer months, the Raymonds would frequently host their friends - artists, musicians, writers, architects, and scholars - who would often welcome asojourn in the Bucks County countryside. Hence, the Raymond Farm became more than a home and studio, but a way of life rooted in nature, beauty, art, and work.

Joshua Lessard, is an award-winning designer and registered architect. Before joining the Michener, Lessard worked as Exhibition Architect and Designer at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. With over a decade of experience managing projects of various scales, he currently sits on Michener’s Executive Team and

*Please note this ArtTalk is being held on a Tuesday and not a Wednesday to accommodate our guest’s schedule.