An exhibition by Nicholas Adams and Barry Price.

Nicholas Adams will deliver a case-side talk about the exhibit and his collection at a reception, and an exhibition catalogue will be available courtesy of the Art Department’s Agnes Ringe Claflin Fund. This will run from May 7–September 19, 2025.

Hastil, the fountain pen at the center of this exhibition, is a special object. Designed in 1968–69 for the Aurora company in Turin by Marco Zanuso (1916–2001), an Italian architect and industrial designer, and Richard Sapper (1932–2015), a German industrial designer, it is the first pen to fulfill the design principles of the modern movement; it is the only fountain pen in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It is also a work of its time, brushed by contemporary debates in Italy around a group of artists known collectively as Arte Povera. Fifty-five years after its introduction in December 1970, its continuing popularity (it is still in production) and its massive influence on pen design throughout the world says much about the durability of modernity and the nature of international taste. The exhibit includes numerous Hastil pens, pens by other pen-makers who were influenced by the Hastil, as well as other household objects designed by Marco Zanuso.

Sponsored by the Vassar Libraries, Art Department, and Media Studies Program. 

This event is open to the public.

Refreshments will be served.