RAIN WU - Architect and Artist, London

Rain Wu is a London-based, Taiwanese architect working across various fields of art and design. With a specific interest in material development, speculative narratives and interactive spatial experiences, her work impressively ranges from drawings to set design, building design, art installations and curation.
We’ve had the chance to meet Rain at this year’s London Design Biennale where she walked us through her latest project – Eatopia – and talked to us about her future plans. 

Rain Wu is the Designer in Residence 2016 at the Design Museum, London.

Rain Wu graduated from MA Architecture at Royal College of Art and has worked at a number of architectural practices including Carmody Groarke in London and Sou Fujimoto Architects. Her architectural background has informed her way of critically dissecting subjects and assembling them in a coherent and relevant manner. She has not only lectured and exhibited internationally, but has also collaborated with professionals from different disciplines to continuously explore architecture's versatility in art and design.

London’s first ever Design Biennale took place at Somerset House in September. In response to the Biennale’s inaugural theme – Utopia by Design – Rain Wu and designer Shikai Tseng teamed up with chef Chung-Ho Tsai to create a utopian dining experience for Taiwan’s offering – Eatopia. Surrounded by cast tree trunks and woodland sounds in a forest-like installation, we had the chance to immerse ourselves in this unique, culinary experience of Taiwan’s cultural collision. Rain and Shikai are currently planning a world tour for Eatopia.

Looking towards the near future, Rain will host a series of events and public programmes as the Designer in Residence 2016 at the Design Museum, London. For her residency, she wishes to explore new ways to engage audiences and find a way to reimagine the traditional exhibition format; possibly by imagining new approaches to experiential storytelling. The residency – which explores the theme of “Open” – coincides with the opening of the museum’s new John Pawson-designed building in Kensington in November. 

@ranwu_

rainwu.net

eatopia.tw

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The composition of images below is a personal selection of Rain Wu's Favourite Works of Art, Favourite Place, Products and the things that inspire her.

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Anthony Gormley - Block (2016)

Carmody Groarke - The Filling Station

Anton Alvarez - Alphabet Aerobics

COS x Sou Fujimoto - Forest of Light

James Shaw and Marjan Van Aubel - Well Proven Chair

Eva Hesse - Right After

Junya Ishigami - Kanagawa Institute of Technology

Mona Hatoum - Grater Divide (2002)

Waterfall Petit

Untitled

Junya Ishigami - Table

Andrew Mowbray - Charcoal Dice

Odires Mlászho - Transformations

Egon Schiele - Torso (1913)

Cerith Wyn Evans - White Cube

Junya Ishigami - Cuboid

Isa Genzken - World Receiver

COS x Sou Fujimoto - Forest of Light

Olafur Eliasson - Riverbeds

Mona Hatoum - Untitled

Carmody Groarke - Studio East Dining

SIMON FREUND – A Young Conceptual Artist, Munich

Simon Freund is not only a close friend of ours, but he’s first and foremost an inspiring conceptual artist. A provocative thinker with a weakness for considered design, Simon lives and breathes somewhere along the lines planner by day and creative by night. He earns his daily bread at renowned furniture company Vitsœ who’s long-living products are rooted in the design philosophy of infamous product designer Dieter Rams - one of the few companies he truly values and respects. And ‘by night’, he conceptualises and creates…

Born in Königstein im Taunus – a dreamy little town in Germany – Simon’s work primarily focuses on the interplay between design and functionality, the concept of value and contemporary consumerism.  

Before Simon decided to pave the way for a more artistic expression of his work, he was running the premium lifestyle brand SIMON&ME (later Simon Freund) that he had founded back in 2010. As an autodidact, he has been working on numerous projects spanning from opening his own Berlin-based concept store – LOCAL – to web design, branding and several published works of art.
 

“I don’t really think I’m an artist, it’s just the best description for what I’m currently pursuing.”

One of the projects Simon is currently working on is fittingly titled all i possess – an ongoing online art installation that draws upon the notions of transparency, consumption and relentless materialism. All of the objects displayed on the site belong to the artist and have either been purchased by him or gifted to him at any given point in time. Documented with meticulous accuracy, all i possess not only reflects on the concept of ownership but rightly raises the question: how much is enough? Simon is currently living and working in Munich.

 
simonfreund.com 

buylessbutbetter.com 

allipossess.com 

kuuunst.com 

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The composition of images below is a personal selection of Simon's Favourite Works of Art, Favourite Products and the things that inspire him.

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Cedes Milano
Chrome Toothpaste/Tube Squeezer on Black Base – via The Line

View fullsize

Magali Reus – Parking (Retainer)
Fibreglass, polyester resin, pigments, painted steel rod, silicone rubber, PVC, cotton
2014

View fullsize

Crista Seya – collection #05

Hartwig Klappert – Waldinseln & Waldfahnen

Alicja Kwade
EADEM MUTATA RESURGO 3, 2013
door
216 x 50 x 30 cm
unique

A shot of Simon´s wardrobe at his home in Munich.

Kim De Ruysscher – crumbled paper 

BRANCUSI BARRETTE by Sophie Buhai 

Kiyoshi Mino
“Common Chimpanzee” (Pan Troglodytes)
via Chamber NYC

Metal Handstamp

Claire Rothstein – Margaux Brooke for P Magazin

Nicole Werners – Infrastruktur, 2015

Ian McIntyre – A Ton Of Clay

Hannes Caspar

muller van severen – cuttingboards, 2011

Linck Keramik – V5 by Margrit Linck

Gino Sarfatti – Mod. 548, 1951

Vitsoe 620 photographed by Rich Stapelton for Cereal Magazine

DOCUMENT – repetition and difference #03 

‘repetition and difference’ Thers is a difference between those that are repeated, creating a different repetition. 

Vitsoe 621

Robert Mapplethorpe – 23. Calla Lily, 1987 ( black and white )

‘His vast, provocative, and powerful body of work has established him as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.’

LIQUID SPACES – Installations and Spatial Experiences

Liquid Spaces is one or favourite books among Gestalten’s publications for this season. Edited by Sofia Borges, Sven Ehmann and Robert Klanten, Liquid Spaces explores the impact of spatial and tangible experiences on human perception and the notion of lasting, sensual encounters. 

This discourse is becoming increasingly important as – in today’s hyper digitalised age – unforgettable experiences lay the foundation of a meaningful dialogue and relationship between artist and audience, museum and visitor or brand and consumer. 

“Surprising materials, colors, shapes, and surfaces provide the props, which alongside innovative smells, sounds, and lighting concepts come together in expansive, stage-like gestures with sculptural details.” 

Divided into four different sections – Geometric Spaces, Ephemeral Spaces, Theatrical Spaces and Immersive Spaces – the book intriguingly showcases the many different ways in which galleries, museums, temporary events, pop-up shops and flagships stores playfully experiment with the idea of crafting an impactful spatial experience. This said, diving into its 256 pages, you’ll find a wide spectrum of unconventional environments and extraordinary spaces created by artists, scenographers, and architects as well as both interior and exhibition designers.

Photographed by Ali Baïlon for GOODS WE LIKE

KEITH AND SHANNON - Gay Men Draw Vaginas

A bit of ‘gay vagina anthropology’. Asking gay men to draw vaginas – or vulvas to be correct – might sound to some people like opposites. But it’s this combination that makes Gay Men Draw Vaginas so intriguing. What the men drew, whether ‘accurate’, or ridiculous or abstract, it was up to them. And as much as this publication is there for a quick laugh at the coffee table, it can also be part of a larger social discourse on gender, sex, identity and the body. In the end, it’s really a question of how the viewer intends to look at the book.

Ultimately, though, we hope people do a lot of things; we hope they’ll laugh, we hope they’ll think about what it means to identify as a “gay man”, we hope they’ll think about ideas our culture has about bodies and body parts.

Keith Wilson and Shannon O’Malley are the curators of Gay Men Draw Vaginas. A couple of years ago, Keith and Shannon had dinner with friends, which turned into a conversation about vaginas. Given the boys’ lack of vagina knowledge, Shannon asked Keith to draw one, and so he did. It was bad. Then his boyfriend drew one, which turned out prettier, albeit much more inaccurate. Everyone at the table became fascinated with these drawings – that evening the project was born, and the two started collecting as many interpretations of the term vagina from anyone who identified as a gay man. The results range from fine art to simple crayon drawings; and from misogynist to a mix of abstract, bizarre, funny, clever, puzzling and beautiful vaginas.

Photographed by Ali Baïlon for GOODS WE LIKE.

KRISTINA KROGH - Limited Edition Art Prints

A few weeks ago i was introduced to Kristina Krogh's limited edition art prints and liked them immediately. The geometric shapes, colors and textures convinced me. Especially the photography is outstanding and a great fit for Goods We Like.

Her inspiration comes from places and objects that surrounds her; a beautiful old parquet, a marble floor in a church, stained glass windows, a bike ride through the streets of Copenhagen – among many other things.  

You should definitely get your hand on one of these prints and check out more unique design on her website.

THE KNOTS - Vintage Rugs Re-born

Based in Berlin, THE KNOTS oriental vintage rugs that were made up to 80 years ago are picked by Katrin with love and care. They are composed of organic materials and handcrafted applying traditional techniques. After going through a process of sun bleaching, restoring and washing THE KNOTS rugs are reborn into contemporary design with outstanding colors. Their authenticity has been accessed by a federally acknowledged expert for oriental rugs. Find out more about these outstanding rugs and visit their Showroom in Berlin for more information.

AMIT GREENBERG - 'This is a Happy Thought'

Multidisciplinary artist Amit Greenberg is currently showcasing his first ever solo exhibition titled “This Is A Happy Thought“ at Colette in Paris. The acclaimed original thinker intriguingly interlinks his interpersonal exchanges, dialogues, and perspectives in his approach to art-making. “As an artist he is tireless, diverse and inventive […]” His work is creatively playful exploring and weaving together themes such as spirituality, sexuality, and mortality. Further, Greenberg’s narratives embody a “mix of philosophy, humor, facts and subconscious thoughts”, as the artist explains. By creating this somewhat comical world, viewers find themselves lost in an imaginative, multi-dimensional setting. April 20 – May 30, 213 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris.

BEN YOUNG - Broken Liquid Sculptures

Ben Young is a self-taught artist who has been making glass sculpture for over 10 years and has exhibited alongside well-known glass artists in both New Zealand and Australia. Having spent most of his life living on the coast in the beautiful Bay of Plenty (North Island, NZ) it was only natural for him to explore the local landscape and surroundings. He is a keen surfer and a boatbuilder by profession, and is largely influenced by the ocean. Ben brings all these passions together when creating his sculptures. Pictures by Ben Young.