Ron Arad (1951) is a British-Israeli industrial designer, artist, and architectural designer. He is best known for his furniture designs, including the postmodern chair Rover.
Ron Arad was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in a progressive Jewish family. Both of his parents were artists. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem between 1971 and 1973, and at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1974 to 1979. After graduating, he briefly worked as an interior architect under Peter Cook.
Arad co-founded the design and production studio One Off in 1981 with Caroline Thorman. Ron Arad Associates architecture and design practice was formed in 1989, and in 2008 Ron Arad Architects was established alongside Caroline Thorman and Asa Bruno.
Arad's career as furniture designer began with the 1981 Rover chair, a postmodernist armchair assembled from a scrapyard leather seat from a Rover P6 car combined with a steel frame. Six copies of the chair were acquired by fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier the same year and made Arad famous overnight.
In 1993, he designed the Bookworm, a warped-metal bookshelf, mass-produced by the Italian furniture company Kartell. In 1997, he created the Tom Vac chair, made from ribbed vacuum-formed aluminium, and FPE chair.
Arad's designs often involve experimentation with non-traditional materials and unexpected fabrication methods. He often uses biomorphic shapes. His style has been called "ruinism", a definition Arad rejects.
In 2004, Arad designed the Lolita chandelier, a lighting fixture for the Swarovski crystal company that can display SMS text messages with light-emitting diodes.
In 2008–09, Arad collaborated with KENZO to create his first perfume bottle which was on display in his MoMA exhibit No Discipline. In 2012, he designed a collection of adjustable eyeglass frames for New Eye London.
Arad designed the 2011 large-scale video installation "720 Degrees", made of 5,600 8-metre tall silicone cords with projected video that formed a cinerama-like circle.
Ron Arad Architects has designed the Maserati Showroom in Modena, Italy (2002), Yohji Yamamoto Flagship Store in Tokyo, Japan (2003) and the Mediacite retail centre in Liège, Belgium. In recent years Arad's firm has been overseeing the construction of a cancer hospital in Afula.
Arad's studio designed the ToHA office complex in Tel Aviv, the first phase of which was completed in early 2019. The second phase, which as of 2025 is in development, will be among the tallest skyscrapers in Israel.
Arad was Head of Design Products Department at the Royal College of Art from 1997 to 2009. He was Professor of Design at the Hochschule in Vienna from 1994 to 1997, and later Professor of Design Products at the Royal College of Art in London up until 2009, when he was made Professor Emeritus.
He was awarded the Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2002 and the London Design Medal of London Design Festival in 2011. In 2012 he was elected a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Art in London. Arad holds an Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University. His work has been exhibited at the MoMA, the V&A and Centre Georges Pompidou.
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| Ron Arad |
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| Rover two-seater, 1985 |
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| Well Tempered Chair, 1986 |
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| The Big Easy Chair, 1987 |
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| Before Summer, 1992 |
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| Chaise Looploop, 1992 |
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| Large Mortal Coil, 1992 |
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| Papardelle, 1992 |
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| Bookworm shelf, 1994 |
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| Giant Bookworm, 1994 |
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| Tom Vac chair, 1997 |
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| Uncut, 1997 |
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| Armchair 'Victoria & Albert Collection, 2000 |
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| Fauteuil Little Heavy, 2001 |
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| Oh Void Daybed, 2002 |
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| Oh Void II Chair, 2002 |
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| In Reverse, 2004 |
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| MT1 armchair, 2004 |
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| MT Rocker, 2005 |
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| In Reverse, Afterthought, 2007 |
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| Bodyguard, 2008 |
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| Guarded Thoughts I.V., 2008 |
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| MT3 rocking chair, 2008 |
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| Rod Gomli, 2009 |
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| Project, 2010 |
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| Two Nuns Bicycle, 2011 |
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| 4 Black Objects, 2012 |
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| Folly Bench, 2013 |
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| In Reverse, Roddy Giacosa (detail) 2013 |
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| Puddle 24, 2015 |
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| Two Legs and a Table (crystalline) Aquamarine, 2023 |
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| Wave Wooden Chair, 2023 |
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| Solf Marble Sofa, 2025 |
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