February 19, 2026

Art of Noise, February 13-August 16, 2026, at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

“This winter, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “Art of Noise,” an exhibition celebrating the groundbreaking designs that have shaped how people experience music over the past century. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and adapted to the history of the New York music scene for its East Coast presentation, ‘Art of Noise’ will be on view at Cooper Hewitt Feb. 13, 2026, through Aug. 16, 2026. Central to the exhibition’s experience and located on the first floor of Cooper Hewitt will be an installation of a large-scale, handmade, audio system by multi-disciplinary artist Devon Turnbull. The ‘HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3’ will open to the public Deccember 12.

From concert posters to record albums, phonographs to digital music players, handheld radios to sound systems, ‘Art of Noise’ takes visitors on an exploration of how design has transformed people’s relationship to music over the past 100 years. On view across the museum’s entire third-floor gallery, the exhibition will feature more than 300 artworks drawn largely from the collections of Cooper Hewitt and SFMOMA, as well as Stockholm-based studio teenage engineering’s unique choir installation and Turnbull’s immersive listening room.”— Cooper Hewitt

teenage engineering, choir, 2022; © teenage engineering
Verner Panton, 3300 Stereo, 1963; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; photo: Don Ross
Stereo Chest, 1973; Designed and made by Wendell Castle (American, 1932-2018); Stack-laminated and carved walnut, leather, metal, rubber, plastic, electronic components; Dual 1229 turntable, Kenwood model KR-5150 receiver; H x W x D (open): 150 x 109.2 x 76 cm (59 1/16 x 43 x 29 15/16 in.); H x W x D (closed): 113.3 x 109.2 x 55.9 cm (44 5/8 x 43 x 22 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Linda and Irwin R. Berman, 2005-9-1-a/e; Photo: Ellen McDermott
Model 566 Bluebird Radio, 1934; Designed by Walter Dorwin Teague (American, 1883–1960); Manufactured by Sparks-Withington Co. (Jackson, Michigan, USA); Glass, chrome-plated steel, wood, paint, textile, electronic components; H x W x D: 36.2 × 36.8 × 17.8 cm (14 1/4 in. × 14 1/2 in. × 7 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of George R. Kravis II, 2018-22-1; Photo: Matt Flynn
Thilo Oerke and Rosita Tonmöbel, Rosita Vision 2000, 1971; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; photo: Don Ross Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; photo: Don Ross
Mathieu Lehanneur, Power of Love, 2009; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee fund purchase; © Mathieu Lehanneur; photo:
Don Ross
Milton Glaser, Dylan Poster, 1967, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, gift of the designer; © Milton Glaser, permission of the estate of Milton Glaser; photo: Tenari Tuatagaloa
Poster, Grammo-Grafik [Record Graphics], 1957; Gottlieb Soland (Swiss, born 1928) for Kunstgewerbemuseum (Zurich, Switzerland); Lithograph on wove paper; 100.2 × 70.3 cm (39 7/16 × 27 11/16 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2009-12-19; Photo: Matt Flynn
Poster, 11th Summer Jazz Festival, 1979; Takenobu Igarashi (Japanese, 1944–2025) for Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan); Printed by KY Printing Co. Ltd. (Japan); Lithograph on paper; 72.8 × 51.5 cm (28 11/16 × 20 1/4 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Takenobu Igarashi, 2018-18-14; Photo: Matt Flynn
Poster, Chambers Brothers Band, Neon Rose #12; Victor Moscoso (Spanish, active USA, born 1936); Published by Neon Rose (San Francisco, California, USA); Printed by Graphic Arts of Marin (California, USA) and Cal Litho (California, USA); Lithograph on wove paper; 51 × 36 cm (20 1/16 × 14 3/16 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2009-12-23; Photo: Matt Flynn

“Music is the soundtrack to our lives, and design is at the center of how we experience it,” said Maria Nicanor, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Through iconic works that many will be able to trace back to their own memories, ‘Art of Noise’ underscores how design shapes the very emotions of our auditory encounters. We are grateful for our collaboration with SFMOMA and curator Joseph Becker to bring this exciting exhibition to the East Coast. From teenage engineering’s unique choir installation to Devon Turnbull’s immersive listening room, audiophiles will mark ‘Art of Noise’ as the not-to-be-missed sonic event of the season.”

“This exhibition invites visitors to reflect on our collective experience of music and the ways we connect with it through dynamic, evocative and often cutting-edge design,” said Joseph Becker, curator of architecture and design at SFMOMA. “Building on its widely attended presentation at SFMOMA, we’re thrilled to bring ‘Art of Noise’ to the East Coast and introduce new elements that capture influential moments from New York’s music scenes.”

ITitle Image: RR-126 Radio-Phonograph, 1965; Designed by Achille Castiglioni (Italian, 1918-2002) and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, (Italian, 1913-1968); Manufactured by Brionvega, S.p.A (Milan, Italy); Plywood, plastic, aluminum, polycarbonate, electronic components; H x W x D (speakers on sides): 46.5 × 121 × 36.5 cm (18 5/16 × 47 5/8 × 14 3/8 in.); H x W x D (speakers on top): 92.5 × 61.5 × 36.5 cm (36 7/16 × 24 3/16 × 14 3/8 in.); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Gift of George R. Kravis II, 2018-22-96-a/c; Photo: Matt Flynn.

Images courtesy Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.