Ron Arad (British, b.1951) is an influential industrial designer and architect known for his playful, inventive use of materials and his sophisticated incorporation of digital processes. Arad attended Bezalei Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem before going on to study under Peter Cook and Bernard Schumi at London’s Architectural Association, where he met Nigel Coates, Zaha Hadid, and Peter Wilson. While Arad works primarily with metal, the 1990s saw the artist beginning to use wood and different textiles. Around the same time, Arad began to focus on making sculptural furniture. He has worked for brands such as Alessi, Swatch, and Kartell as a designer and as an architect. After teaching as a professor of product design in Vienna from 1994 to 1997, Arad was professor of furniture design at the Royal College of Art in London from 1997 to 2009. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Montreal, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He lives and works in London.