Ron Arad gets first major UK survey

(courtesy of Holon Design Museum)

London's Barbican art center has announced that it will stage the first major UK exhibition of the works of the designer, architect and artist, due to open February 18.

Entitled Ron Arad: Restless, the display will span works from three decades - Arad first hit the design circuit in 1981 when he opened his One Off workshop in London's Covent Garden neighborhood - from his "early post-punk approach, assembling works from readymade parts" to his "technologically-advanced sculptural objects made of highly polished metals."

Due to the importance of movement in Arad's designs, visitors will be encouraged to experience the works first hand rather than just looking at them as if they were pieces of art: they will "sit or recline or play a game of table tennis," according to the Barbican.

In addition to the finished products, designed by Arad for brands including Alessi, Moroso or Vitra, Restless will show prototypes from different stages of the work process to give as much insight as possible, while visitors will also take a look behind the scenes of the creation of the Holon Design Museum, the architect's most ambitious building to date, due to open to the public in the first half of this year.

The survey follows Arad's first major US retrospective No Discipline, which wrapped up at New York's Museum of Modern Art in October.

Site: www.barbican.org.u