Ron Arad STIRred 2023 with designs that gave a fresh spin to material possibilities

The UK-based designer Ron Arad is well-known for his public art projects, and experimental design process. His designs are constant explorations of the potential of materials such as steel, aluminium, or polyamide. Additionally, his re-conceptualisation of furniture through this experimental approach has put him at the forefront of contemporary design and architecture. Arad has previously worked with companies including Kartell, Vitra, Moroso, Fiam, Driade, Alessi, Cappellini, Cassina, WMF and Magis among many others. In 2023, the experimental designer showcased his work alongside many other well-known artists and continued to push the possibilities of furniture design. STIR enlists all the projects the designer undertook in the last year, celebrating innovation and sustainable thinking.

1. People:

Presenting a reimagined version of his earlier sculptures and installations from the Love Song Series, Arad shared Love Song in a Cube for the fourth edition of Cure3, a fundraising exhibition dedicated to spreading awareness and research for Parkinson’s disease. The design exhibition was conceived in association with Bonhams in London and Artwise and brought together almost 100 internationally renowned artists, including Rana Begum, Conrad Shawcross, Idris Khan, Mona Hatoum, Tracey Emin, and Polly Morgan.

2. Pieces:

One Line Two Coils, an armchair design project was debuted by Arad this year in Milan at Galleria Rossana Orlandi. Made of recycled plastic, the project combines rigorous research and an affinity towards sustainability .

The other project Arad debuted in 2023 was the Cono di Luce decorative lighting design piece. In collaboration with Lodes, a design company from Italy, Cono di Luce is characterised by a transparent Pyrex cone that houses a printed circuit board (PCB) inside a frame. The light exemplifies a technical feat brought to fruition with the design offering various functionalities.

3. Places:

Opera Gallery presented a solo exhibition of the designer’s work, Don’t Ya Tell Henri in New York from May 17 to June 14, 2023. His second solo show with the gallery explored the duality between structure and absence within the material world, featuring an array of new crystalline resin pieces.

The showcase explored Arad’s influences, Henri Matisse and Bob Dylan (as illustrated by the title of the exhibition). Using the framework of a bookshelf, Arad’s chair designs built upon the striking and dynamic interplay of Matisse’s cut-out collage series through new means.

The London venue of Opera Gallery unveiled Untitled Rencontres in November, a group exhibition featuring a collection of works by ‘masters’ of modern art including Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Marc Chagall, Yayoi Kusama, Fernand Léger, René Magritte, Georges Mathieu, Joan Miró, and Andy Warhol among others. It interspersed these art pieces with specific presentations by Opera Gallery’s represented artists, including Arad.

Arad’s presentation focused on a series of new artworks made in collaboration with artisans from Dakar, Senegal. These works America Made in Africa, Salam Sofa and Don’t Ya Tell Henri are handcrafted using the metal from oil drums.