VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST Exhibition pays tribute to icon's 100th birthday

Forty of the exhibit sites are in Ohio.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
Almost everyone has seen the work of Viktor Schreckengost, but very few realize it.
Examples of the industrial designer's work are everywhere: children's pedal cars, bicycles, ceramics, trucks, theater costumes, toys and dinnerware.
The Sebring native, who spent his life working for a number of companies in northeast Ohio, is one of America's most important and influential designers. Among the companies he worked for are Sears, Murray, General Electric and Harris Printing. He also taught for 70 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Schreckengost, who will turn 100 on June 26, is being honored by the Viktor Schreckengost National Centennial Exhibition, which will run from Saturday to June 26. The exhibition is as eclectic, widespread and unique as the man whom it honors. The exhibition is sponsored by the Viktor Schreckengost Foundation.
Schreckengost's works are being showcased at more than 100 sites across the country -- 40 of which are in Ohio.
About the man
Schreckengost was a driving force behind modern industrial design throughout the 20th century. His work spans a wide range, including the automotive, ceramic, furniture, recreational, military, print production and electronics fields.
It is estimated that every adult in the United States has handled, used, driven, worn, played with, ridden in, collected or otherwise enjoyed objects designed by Schreckengost or one of his students.
Yet the man who has come to be known as America's Leonardo DaVinci spent his career largely unknown among the general public. He focused his energies on his work and not self-promotion.
Many of his designs were mass-produced, and the items on display in the centennial exhibition are examples of Schreckengost's creed: "Good design should be available to everyone."
Area sites
In Youngstown, the Butler Institute of American Art is showing one piece, "Butter-Nut," an art-pottery vase.
In Sebring, the town historical society's museum at 565 N. 19th St. is showing many pieces of dinnerware. In addition, the family home, in which Schreckengost grew up, is still standing on Indiana Avenue and is owned by Paul Schreckengost, Viktor's nephew.
In Salem, the town historical society, 208 S. Broadway Ave., has an exhibit of items Schreckengost designed for the Salem China Co. before and after World War II. Schreckengost served as the company's art director through the mid-1950s.
Kent State University Museum on the campus of Kent State University -- home to one of the most comprehensive collections of fashion design from the 18th century to the present -- is showing a number of Schreckengost's costume and theater set designs.
Other exhibitions are being held in Canton, Massillon, Akron, Peninsula, Cleveland Heights, Gates Mills, Kirtland, Rocky River, Westlake, Lorain and Lakewood, Zanesville, Lancaster, Columbus and New Bremen.
For more information, go to www.viktorschreckengost.org.