Ron Arad

Among the most influential designers of our time, Ron Arad (Israeli, b. 1951) stands out for his daredevil curiosity about technology and materials and for the versatile nature of his work. Trained at the Jerusalem Academy of Art and at London's Architectural Association, Arad has produced an outstanding array of innovative objects over the past twenty-five years, from almost unlimited series of objects to carbon fiber armchairs and polyurethane bottle racks. He has also designed memorable spaces, some plastic and tactile, others ethereal and digital. This exhibition will be the first major retrospective of Arad's design work in the United States. Arad relies on the computer and its rapid manufacturing capabilities as much as he relies on the soldering apparatus in his metal workshop. His beautiful furniture can even receive and display SMS and Bluetooth messages from mobile phones and Palm Pilots. Idiosyncratic and surprising, and also very beautiful, Arad's designs communicate the joy of invention, pleasure and humor, and pride in the display of their technical and constructive skills. The exhibition will open in Paris in the fall of 2009.