Born: 1951 Tel Aviv, Israel
Year of Migration to the UK: 1974
Other name/s: רון ארד
Biography
Architect, industrial designer, and sculptor Ron Arad was born into a Jewish family in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1951; he was encouraged by his parents – his father was a sculptor and his mother a painter – to express his artistic vision from a young age, especially in the field of architectural design. He studied Architecture at the Jerusalem Academy of Art (1971–73) and, after graduating, moved to London to study at the Architectural Association (1974–79), where his mentors were the architects Peter Cook and Swiss-born Bernard Tschumi. Instead of submitting a portfolio to the admissions committee, he boldly stated, 'I don’t have a portfolio. I have a 6B pencil. What do you want me to do?' and this performance gained him a place at the school (cited in an interview with Artflyer). Upon graduating, he was apprenticed to a London architectural studio, until one day in 1981, after failing to return from lunch, he instead visited a junkyard which inspired him to design a 'sleekly aggressive postmodernist piece' of furniture, combining two readymades: a Rover 2000 car seat and a tubular steel frame. The so-called Rover Chair gained him instant recognition in the design world and now has the status of a sculpture, with some steel variants subsequently produced in a limited edition.
Arad co-founded the design studio One Off with Caroline Thorman in 1981; they have remained business partners and since collaborated on later projects. In 1989 they established Ron Arad Associates and, 19 years later, Ron Arad Architects. The offices are well known for their bold, innovative designs, winning worldwide commissions including the Tel Aviv Opera Foyer in Israel (1988), Maserati Showroom in Modena, Italy (2002), Yohji Yamamoto Flagship Store in Tokyo (2003), and the Design Museum Holon in Israel (2010). In the UK, Arad is best known for the Selfridges Technology Hall and the Belgo Noord and Belgo Centraal restaurants in London, but has also been involved in a project for Battersea Power Station and has designed private properties across London. In 2017 as a Memorial Architect, he won the competition to design the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, London in collaboration with leading studio, Adjaye Associates, and Gustafson Porter + Bowman as Landscape Architect. He has also contributed to exhibition designs and installations including the interior for Winning: The Design of Sports exhibition for Glasgow, the 1999 UK City of Architecture and Design. As an individual designer, he has collaborated with major global brands, including Kenzo, Swarovski, Cappellini, Adidas, Nestlé, Fiat, Samsung, LG and Bombay Sapphire. He is a regular designer with Kartell, Vitra, Moroso, Fiam, Driade, Alessi and Flos.
In addition to his practice, Arad began teaching design theory at the Hochschule in Vienna in 1994, before taking up a teaching position at the Royal College of Art, London and subsequently becoming Head of the Department of Design Products between 1997 and 2009. His main principle in teaching is to omit 'shoulds' in art practice and to unleash creative potential. In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Tel Aviv University in Israel and was elected as a Royal Academician (RA) by the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 2013. Arad's other accolades include the Royal Designer for Industry Award (2002) and the London Design Medal (2011). In 2009–10 a retrospective exhibition entitled Ron Arad: No Discipline was held, initiated by the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, touring to the Museum of Modern Art, New York a year later. Also in 2010, another major show entitled Ron Arad: Restless was held at the Barbican Centre, London. Arad has also created many works of public sculpture sited in cities around the globe, including: Big Blue in Canary Wharf, London (2000), Evergreen! in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo (2003), Kesher, in Tel Aviv (2011), and Vortext in Seoul, South Korea (2011). His work is represented in UK collections including the Royal Academy of Arts and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Ron Arad continues to work at his studio in Chalk Farm, London.
Related books
- Ron Arad, Galit Gaon, Lydia Yee, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Udi Sharabani, In Reverse (Holon: Design Museum Holon, 2013)
- Ron Arad, Francesco Clemente, Last Train (Steinmetz, 2013)
- Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Another Twist in the Plot (Ivory Press, 2013)
- Andrea Branzi, Ron Arad (Il Sole 24 Ore, 2011)
- Glenn D. Lowry et. al., No Discipline, exhib. cat. (New York: MoMA, 2009)
- Cynthia Fleury et. al., Ron Arad – Architecture (Nathalie Pasqua, Elsa Lemarignier, Enrico Navarra, 2009)
- Sarah Natkins, Carole Hochman, Paved With Good Intentions (Friedman Benda, 2007)
- Barry Friedman, Reed Krakoff, Jean Nouvel, Marie-Laure Jousset, Ron Arad, exhib. cat. (Barry Friedman Ltd, 2005)
- Matthew Collings, Ron Arad talks to Matthew Collings (London: Phaidon, 2004)
- Deyan Sudjic, Ron Arad (Postmedia Books, 2003)
- Deyan Sudjic, Ron Arad (Laurance King, 1999)
- Peter Cook, Deyan Sudjic, Ron Arad, exhib. cat. (Vitra Design Museum, 1990)
- Deyan Sudjic, Restless Furniture (Rizoli, 1989)
- Ron Arad, Caroline Thorman, One Off (London: One Off, 1988)
- Raymond Guidot, Olivier Boissiere, Ron Arad (Editions Dis Voir, 1988)
Public collections
Related organisations
- Architectural Association School of Architecture (student)
- One Off Studio (co-founder)
- Ron Arad Architects (co-founder)
- Ron Arad Associates (founder)
- Royal Academy of Art (member)
- Royal College of Art (lecturer, Head of Department of Design Products)
Related web links
- Ron Arad's biography on his personal website
- Ron Arad: A Straight Line Is Also a Curve interview on Artflyer
- Ron Arad's installation, Curtain Call at the Roundhouse in 2011
- Press release: Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects win UK Holocaust Memorial International Design Competition
- Interview with Ron Arad by Anthony Haden-Guest
- Ron Arad: My Space, The Guardian, 3 August 2008
- Ron Arad, architect and designer – portrait of the artist, Interview by Laura Barnett
- Photo of Ron Arad taken by Anne-Katrin Purkiss
Selected exhibitions
- Ron Arad 69, Newlands House Gallery, Petworth (2021)
- Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts (2016, 2015, 2013)
- Thought of Train of Thought, Terrace Wires: Ron Arad RA, installation at St Pancras Station, London organised by the Royal Academy of Art, Lonon (2016–17)
- Ron Arad: Summer Exhibition, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London (2016)
- In Reverse, Design Museum, Holon – Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino (2014)
- Venice Art Biennale (2013)
- Ron Arad: Restless, Barbican Centre London (2010)
- Ron Arad: No Discipline MoMA, New York – Pompidou Centre, Paris (2009)
- New Work, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2009)
- Frieze, Exhibited on the booth of Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2008)
- Frieze, Exhibited on the booth of Jablonka Galerie, London (2007)
- No Entry, Bromptom Road, London (2006)
- A Retrospective Exhibition 1981–2004, Barry Friedman Ltd., New York (2005) British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2004)
- Ron Arad Studio Works: 1981–2003, Louisa Guinness Gallery, London (2003)
- Before and After Now, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2000)
