Born in Sydney, Australia in 1963, Newson has lived and worked in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and presently resides in London where his company, Marc Newson Limited, has been based since 1997. He has had ongoing relationships with companies such as Apple, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Hermès, Nike, Hennessy, Dom Pérignon, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Beretta to name a few. As well as overseeing his own company, he has held senior positions at clients’ companies, having been Creative Director of Qantas Airways from 2005-2015, and Designer for Special Projects at Apple since his first involvement in the design of the ‘Apple Watch’ (2014).  

Marc Newson graduated from Sydney University in 1986 and with the aid of an Australian Crafts Council grant staged his first solo exhibition at the age of 23. By the age of 25, Marc had created the Lockheed Lounge, a riveted aluminium chaise longue that has arguably become one of the most iconic contemporary design works. Some 30 years later, it has set four world record prices at auction for work created by a living designer. His design pieces remain highly sought after on the secondary market and by 2010 accounted for 24% of total auction sales in the category for Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.

Marc is the only industrial designer represented by the Gagosian Gallery, and alongside Frank Gehry forms the gallery’s ‘Masters of Design.’ Leading museums around the world have hosted solo retrospective exhibitions of his work.

Additionally, his work is presented in the permanent collections of many major museums including: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum (London), V&A Museum (London), Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou (Paris), Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein), Museum Angewandte Kunst (Frankfurt), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, MUDE- Museu do Design e da Moda (Lisbon), Israel Museum (Jerusalem), Powerhouse Museum (Sydney), and the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne). He has also been appointed Chair of the London Design Museum’s International Design Council.

Marc Newson has been included in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and has received numerous awards and distinctions. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Sydney University, Adjunct Professorships at Sydney University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and was appointed RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) by the Royal Society of Arts.  In 2012, he was awarded CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Newson’s work has been featured in countless books and publications and there are three monographs to date including the encyclopaedic ‘Marc Newson Works’ published by Taschen (2012). He has been the subject of various radio and television programmes including an interview on PBS on Charlie Rose (2010), BBC’s Imagine ‘Marc Newson Urban Spaceman’ (2008), Objects of Desire on Sky Arts, and ‘Objectified’, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit.