March 12, 2013
On Thursday, April 4, 2013, Knoll designer and Pratt Institute graduate Charles Pollock will receive the Rowena Reed Costello Award at a ceremony in New York City. The award is given to a teacher, entrepreneur or designer who embodies the mission of the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund, which encourages and guides a methodical approach to all forms of visual expression.
The Pollock Executive Chair, which was designed for Knoll in 1963, is among the best-selling executive chair in the history of office furniture design. It was exhibited in the Louvre in Paris and is still in production today.
Charles Pollock will join 16 other "champions of the abstract principles of visual relationships" who have received the award, including: Gina Caspi, Ivan Rigby, Eva Zeisel, Gerald Gulotta, William Fogler, Eugene Grossman, Ralph Appelbaum, James Fulton, Louis Nelson, Judy Collins, Bruce Hannah, Ted Muehling, Lucia N. DeRespinis, Tom Patti, Leonard Bacich and Bill Katavolos.
The fund at Pratt Institute was organized after the death of Rowena Reed Costello in 1988 to help continue her teachings by supporting scholarships, publishing and programs. Rowena, with her husband Alexander Kostellow and Donald Dohner, created Pratt Institute's Industrial Design program.
At the ceremony, Charles Pollock will receive a "trophy" designed by a 3-D design student. The student and professor Kathryn Fila worked together to transform the sketch into the award trophy.