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Bard Graduate Center is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City dedicated to the cultural histories of the material world. Our MA and PhD degree programs, Gallery exhibitions, research initiatives, scholarly publications and public programs explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

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Bard Graduate Center is dedicated to new research in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Exhibitions, both in our gallery and online, emerge from classroom teaching and faculty research and often serve as the basis for collaborations with scholars and institutions elsewhere in the city and around the world. These critically acclaimed projects offer visitors cutting-edge perspectives on objects—from the mundane to the extraordinary—and their stories. BGC Gallery publishes award-winning catalogues and offers a broad array of programs to enhance your gallery experience.



Explore our digital exhibition, Sèvres Extraordinaire: Sculpture from 1740 until Today, which examines the sweep of design and production of sculpture made at Sèvres from the Manufactory’s founding in 1740 to the present.

Exhibition Description
Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today presents the history of the Sèvres Manufactory and its production of extraordinary sculptural objects in various ceramic pastes. Organized by Sèvres, Manufacture et Musée nationaux, and Bard Graduate Center, the exhibition is the first outside of France to highlight the production of sculpture made at the famed porcelain manufactory.

From extravagant Rococo to restrained Neoclassical, from romantic, neo-Gothic inventions to the elegant curves of the Art Nouveau or the geometries of the Art Deco, and in partnership with artists associated with Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop art, Sèvres has continually pushed the boundaries of ceramic production, creating objects that are neither functional nor decorative but rather art that it simply calls “sculpture.”
Online Exhibition
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Credits
Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today is curated by Tamara Préaud, former archivist of the Sèvres Manufactory, Soazig Guilmin, Sèvres, Manufacture et Musée nationaux, head of the registrar’s department (Service de Récolement et du Mouvement des Oeuvres), Charlotte Vignon, former director of the department of patrimony and collections (Département de Patrimoine et des Collections), Sèvres, Manufacture et Musée nationaux, and Susan Weber, founder and director, Bard Graduate Center.


Support for Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today is generously provided by the Lee B. Anderson Memorial Foundation, the Majolica International Society, the Belvedere Trust, Michele Beiny Harkins, Giles Ellwood and Philippe Sacerdot, and other donors to Bard Graduate Center.