Ron Arad

The ethereal and conceptual work of a designer who has deftly avoided a recognizable style for more than 20 years

Even among the most influential designers of our time, Ron Arad stands out for the versatile nature of his work and his daredevil use of materials and technology. Idiosyncratic, surprising and always visually arresting, Arad's work communicates the joy in creation, the pleasure in invention and pride in technical and constructive qualities. His designs move from limited to almost unlimited series, from handmade to industrial, from carbon-fiber armchairs to polyurethane bottle racks. In work now plastic and tactile, now ethereal and conceptual, he has deftly avoided a recognizable style for more than 20 years. His style is rather a matter of character, reflective of his disregard for established disciplines.

Through his own output and his decade-long tenure as the head of the Design Products graduate program at the Royal College of Art in London, Arad has greatly influenced the current debate on design's relationship with art, technology and innovation and nurtured some of the most promising young designers in today's international scene. Published to accompany the first major retrospective of Arad's work in the U.S., this volume features an interview with the artist and essays on his use of innovative materials and technology, his role as an educator and communicator on the importance of design and his place in the world of design and the larger art market. A lavishly illustrated plate section provides visual and written documentation of approximately 80 works.