Juan Montoya Named Vegas Design Icon

January 6, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on January 7, 2010 Juan Montoya will be honored next month with World Market Center Las Vegas€™ prestigious Design Icon award, presented during Winter Las Vegas Market, Feb. 1-5.

The award presentation, part of Las Vegas Design Center's Design Series during Market, is set for 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3, in WorldView, located on the 16th floor of Building B. Montoya will speak about some of the projects he's done over the past two decades, and topics will include the origin and message of projects, the impact of lighting, cultural differences in the design world, use of materials, and the ways of combining design and technology. His presentation will be offered in both English and Spanish. Montoya's talk will be followed by a reception.

Montoya, who is one of the United States' top designers for residential and commercial spaces, joins the ranks of past recipients, such as Vicente Wolf, Roger Thomas, Vladimir Kagan and Larry Laslo.

"I feel very honored and very appreciative and humbled by this award," Montoya said. "It means that people appreciate the work I have done, and that I have been doing my job the best way I can do it."

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Montoya studied at Universidad La Gran Colombia and at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. He got his start working for Ford and Earl, and did freelance work in Paris and Milan prior to opening his own New York office in 1978.

Known for his qualities of space and scale, Montoya's eclectic style integrates objects from across the globe to highlight the cultures that inspire him, such as Japanese, Moroccan, Scandinavian and North and South American.

"The client and space dictate what period I will be working in," Montoya said. "I consider myself a tailor who finds the best materials to clothe an interior in the appealing and comfortable way, down to the last detail."

He takes projects that are not only interiors, but also architecture and exteriors. His clients represent his international interests and are often involved in۬commerce and diplomacy.

Montoya has received numerous accolades throughout his colorful career, including the S.M. Hexter award for Interior of the Year in 1977 and 1980; the Chicago Design Sources award for excellence in the field of residential interior design; and the Resources Council Inc. Awards for furniture design. Montoya also was selected as a panel member for the National Endowment of the Arts, is consistently named in the AD Top 100 Designers and is represented in the Interior Design Hall of Fame.

He's currently working on a home for seniors in Columbia, as well as developing a project for Aid for AIDS in New York.

"I have been very lucky in my professional career and I enjoy giving back to the community," Montoya said of those projects. "I want to help them not only with donations but also construction of facilities. When you have been in the field for as many years as I have it's important to help in areas like education for the design field, among others."

"The fact that we're honoring such an eclectic and world-inspired artist speaks volumes about design today," said Robert Maricich, president and CEO of World Market Center Las Vegas. "Juan Montoya's career draws from different countries and different cultures to create his own unique aesthetic. World Market Center Las Vegas and Las Vegas Design Center couldn't be more pleased to designate him Design Icon, for he truly is that, in every sense of the word."