Timothy Taylor Gallery is delighted to present an exhibition of new works by Ron Arad.
Marking the first show at the gallery since it announced sole representation of Arad in the UK,
the show will feature nine highly sophisticated, experimental pieces, many only recently
completed and never before seen.
Perhaps the pivotal point of the exhibition Oh, the farmer & the cowman should be friends is
an extraordinary, imposing shelving unit in the shape of the United States of America,
colonizing almost an entire wall of the gallery. Constructed jigsaw-like from individual ‘states’
of stainless and Corten steel, it has a powerful, commanding presence, both playful and
provocative.
Continuing Arad’s ever-evolving re-invention of the chair, the Thumbprint and Rod Gomli
are jewel-like objects composed of multiple bronze (Thumbprint) or stainless steel (Rod
Gomli) rods that shimmer as the light shifts, revealing subtle gradations of colour. The first in
their respective editions they are imposing yet intricate pieces whose seductive contours
invite the viewer to touch and explore before climbing into their curved centre.
Woven among these works are a series of three unique Bodyguards. Crafted from inflated
aerospace aluminium and cut individually before being polished and tinted, they are shown
alongside three new and unique Drunk Bodyguards. These remarkable sculptural pieces
sway woozily on a single tangent point, balancing poised in mid-air. Although extremely
heavy, they appear weightless, reacting to the lightest of touches.
Ambitious and innovative, these works challenge the boundaries of material and form,
remaining functional while physically appearing to defy logic. Refusing easy categorization or
limitation they are resolutely Ron Arad.
Following his recent critically acclaimed solo show No Discipline at the Centre Pompidou,
Paris, Arad will open a re-defined version of this exhibition at MOMA from 2 August – 19
October before reconfiguring it in turn for the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in the autumn of
2010. A solo show will also open at the Barbican Centre from 8 February until 16 May, 2010.
Arad was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 and studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in
Jerusalem and at the Architectural Association in London. He was appointed Professor of
Product Design at the Royal College of Art in 1997, relinquishing his post only recently.
Before and After Now, a major retrospective of Arad’s work was exhibited at the Victoria and
Albert Museum in 2000, a year after the publication of a monograph by Deyan Sudjic, now
Director of London’s Design Museum. In 2004, Ron Arad Talks To Matthew Collings was
published by Phaidon. Arad’s Architectural projects include the Maserati headquarters
showroom in Modena, Italy, and Y’s fashion store for Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo, Japan, which
opened in 2003. In 2004 he began work on the design of Magis’s headquarters in Treviso,
Italy and the Holon Design Museum in Israel. In the same year, he participated in the British
Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
A talk between Ron Arad and Antony Gormley will take place at the gallery on 29 April from
7pm. Please contact Cassie Vaughan on 020 7409 3344 or cassie@timothytaylorgallery for
more details.
15 Carlos Place London W1K 2EX Telephone 020 7409 3344 Facsimile 020 7409 1316
Open 10-6pm Mon-Fri; 10-1pm Sat.
For further information please contact Elizabeth Barrett at Sutton PR Tel: 020 7183 3577 or
email: [email protected]