After a decade of exhibiting inside Manhattan homes, Radnor opens a gallery in Brooklyn, closer to where the story began. The studio operated out of Gowanus’s American Can Factory for years, while a significant portion of its roster—inc Egg Collective, Workplaceand Skin— built early careers in townhouse workshops and attics. The new penthouse at Brooklyn Tower arrives for Radnor’s 10th anniversary as a homecoming and the founder’s last expression by Susan Clark long-standing interest in the appearance of collectible design where one can imagine its use.
This approach has been central to Radnor since its earliest exhibitions. In 2018, Materials Interiors transformed a two-bedroom residence at The Bryant by David Chipperfield Architects into a fully functional facility, curated in conjunction with Workstead and shaped by the apartment’s herringbone oak floors and contours. Three years later, Clark brought the format 180 East 88th Streetan Upper East Side residence developed by DDG and Global Holdings, where he collaborated with Elizabeth Roberts Architects on an experiential showroom that combined Radnor’s roster with Roberts’ inaugural Radnor Made collection. Most recently, Radnor directed Evolution in form inside a 5,000-square-foot Sutton Tower penthouse, 70 stories above Manhattan, using the architecture of Thomas Juul-Hansen as a framework for a more refreshed presentation of collectible design.
Brooklyn Tower, SHoP Architects’ skyscraper that now defines downtown Brooklyn’s skyline, continues that lineage in a nearly 6,000-square-foot, full-floor penthouse. With 12-foot ceilings and stunning views of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the setting is designed as both a gallery and a residence, allowing objects to be treated not as individual works on display but as elements within a living environment.
This commitment to material presence carries over into the inaugural program: a solo presentation of new handmade works by the Los Angeles-based artist Rachel DuVall. Her practice begins with the inherent nexus of weaving—the vertical meeting of warp and weft—then pushes against its rigidity through the small irregularities of the hand. For this series, DuVall places a dyed layer beneath the woven surface, allowing the naturally dyed fibers in moss green, indigo and ocher to register on a colored ground rather than a blank canvas.
Radnor has long championed fabric-based work, and DuVall’s stretched, framed pieces read as tactile paintings. Distributed throughout the generous proportions of the penthouse, the fabrics create a quiet counterbalance to the building’s verticality, light and expansive views. The installation also highlights how Clark’s model has evolved over the past decade: each setting gives the designers a specific architectural condition to respond to, while giving visitors a more intimate sense of how unique objects can shape the atmosphere of a home.
For Clark, the milestone is as much about the place as the program. Merging the roles of retailer, gallery, and maker, Radnor has spent the past 10 years building an international roster that ranges from Toshio Tokunaga and Loïc Bard to homegrown Brooklyn talent—supporting designers who create unique, carefully produced objects.
To learn more about Susan Clark and her creative endeavors, visit radnor.co.
Photo by William Jess Laird.
