Arnout Visser has made products from ceramics, plastics and even water, but his main medium is glass. He finds his forms through investigating the substance’s optical, mechanical and physical properties. “The form of the product is dictated by the working of the material,” he says. But this child of the Bauhaus has a sense of play. “My idea is not to make a decorative object,” says Visser, “but one you want to pick up, try, use and experiment with.”
His Salad Sunrise oil and vinegar bottle for Droog Design makes use of the scientific fact that oil and vinegar don’t mix: the liquids are stored in the same cylinder and poured out through separate nozzles. And his new series of recycled-glass objects made by Kenyan craftsmen includes an elephant that becomes a carafe when turned upside down (its trunk acts as a spout). Also on show in Tokyo is his Tile Kitchen project, with special tiles that integrate kitchen accessories, from an egg timer to a sink, and others that seamlessly cover corners and edges. It was nominated for the Rotterdam Design Prize in 2003.
Arnout Visser studied at Arnhem’s ArtEZ art and design academy and spent a year at Domus Academy in Milan. He’s been designing commissioned pieces as well as his own collection in his Arnhem studio since 1991.
Zurich’s Museum of Design recently acquired several of Visser’s glass works, including the elegant Salt Glass shaker. Meanwhile, his creativity continues to evolve in new directions. He’s currently working with architects to develop building materials and surfaces, and this year he exhibited benches made from tree trunks.
Links
arnoutvisser.com
