High Touch

Date:
2026

Client:
Miller Knoll

Material:
Mixed

Photo:
Eric Petschek

"Curated by Luke Baker, High-Touch draws from the MillerKnoll Archives and private collections to bring together residential interiors, furniture, and objects by both Joe D'Urso and Ward Bennett. The exhibition places their work in dialogue through Bennett's long‑standing design partnership with Geiger and D'Urso's work for Knoll, as well as through their intertwined professional and personal relationship.

Together, their work reflects a shared late-20th-century interpretation of total design: a holistic approach to modern living rooted in the idea of designing complete environments rather than isolated elements. Drawing on earlier movements including Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, and the Arts and Crafts tradition, both designers applied this mindset across residential projects.

"I think Ward learned from my more architectural way of looking at things, and he taught me to try to design everything—that no detail was too small," said D'Urso. "That's something that really stuck with me my entire career, and I think the same is true for him, too."

Spanning five decades, High-Touch reveals the craft behind the restraint of New York's minimalist interiors. The exhibition brings Bennett and D'Urso into focus through objects and materials that reveal how minimalism was made: from rare Ward Bennett pieces, including a wicker 1060–C Sled Chair to original Joe D'Urso sketches and an unseen prototype dining chair for Knoll. These works—presented in an exhibition conceived by industrial designer Jonah Takagi, with graphic design by Various Projects—are contextualized by archival photographs and production prints from High‑Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for the Home, all of which ground modernism in everyday life."

Source: Miller Knoll