The 1940s—a divided decade. Destruction and death in the first half. Rebuild and rebirth in the second. In America, when the war ended the boom began and craft, plastics, and textile arts took off. 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