The 1940s—a divided decade. Destruction and death in the first half. Rebuild and rebirth in the second. In America, when the war ended in 1945, the boom was on and craft, plastics, and textile art began to flourish. Kitchens across the country were fitted with snazzy radios in different colors, and living rooms saw the arrival of Eames fiberglass chairs—lightweight, colorful, and emblematic of postwar innovation. This exhibition explores designs that embraced a new way of living. —Elena Clavarino