Rio Kobayashi’s new furnishings bridges eras, proven alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury work at Blunk Area

Within the Fifties and Sixties, Marin County, a area simply north of San Francisco recognized for its rugged landscapes, was dwelling to a thriving artwork scene. Though linked to San Francisco by way of individuals and concepts, the neighborhood there had its personal distinctive and unbiased spirit. Amongst its artistic residents had been artists JB Blunk (1926-2002) and Fritz Rauh (1920-2011), who shared an inventive ethos and deep friendship.

Blunk, famend for his natural, nature-inspired sculptures, and Rauh, a painter whose hallucinogenic canvases captured the enjoyment and spontaneity of the pure world, had been first launched by British surrealist painter Gordon Onslow Ford (on whose land Blunk constructed the Blunk Home within the late Fifties and early Sixties). The 2 remained agency mates for the remainder of their lives.

Quick ahead six many years, and Mariah Nielson – Blunk’s daughter and the director of the JB Blunk Property – discovered herself unexpectedly reminded of Rauh at some point when viewing the work of furnishings designer Rio Kobayashi. Kobayashi, who relies in London and of Japanese and Austrian descent, was named by Wallpaper* as a future icon in 2023 following his solo present throughout London Design Competition – the identical 12 months he took half within the ‘100 Hooks’ exhibition at Blunk Area.

For Nielson, his meticulous craftsmanship and use of color triggered reminiscences of Fritz Rauh’s work with their dense patterns and vibrant colors. ‘As a result of Fritz and my father had been shut mates, and sometimes traded artworks, I grew up with Fritz’s work in our dwelling and at all times loved the mesmerising high quality of his colors and high-quality marks,’ Nielson displays. ‘Once I met Rio and noticed the attractive furnishings he was making with such element, color and care, I instantly considered Fritz’s work and needed to convey their work collectively.’

If Kobayashi’s work seems acquainted, that is perhaps since you’ve seen it trotting the globe in latest months – he has a solo present with Kate MacGarry in London that simply opened, confirmed with Blunk Area at Design Miami 2024 in December, and exhibited items on the Design Museum’s Enzo Mari exhibition.

Final 12 months, the connection culminated in two casual residencies that passed off on the Blunk Home in Inverness, California (Blunt’s former dwelling and his daughter Mariah’s present dwelling), the place Kobayashi created a collection of recent works. Utilising salvaged redwood sourced from native sawyer Evan Shively at Arborica, Kobayashi crafted a desk, bench, chair, and stools in JB’s workshop. His designs echo the pure kinds and textures of the wooden, mixing modernist sensibilities with conventional Japanese aesthetics. The result’s a group of useful but sculptural items that sit in concord with the natural kinds and complicated element of Rauh’s work; Rauh’s brushstrokes mirrored within the sinuous curves of Kobayashi’s assortment.

Opening on 18 January, at Blunk Area – the property’s artwork gallery and analysis centre based in 2021 by Nielson – these new works by Kobayashi can be showcased alongside Rauh’s historic work in a devoted present that invitations a dialogue between previous and current.

This strategy of making a dialog between outdated and new is one thing Nielson has been pursuing with nice success. ‘Rio Kobayashi & Fritz Rauh’ follows on from an exhibition by Guadalajara-based designer Fabien Cappello and Oakland-based artist Lucy Stark, which featured objects and work impressed by time spent on the Blunk Home. The format not solely celebrates the legacy of JB Blunk but additionally underscores the relevance of the inventive conversations and friendships he fostered.