Karim Rashid  Pleasurscape

Rashid is internationally recognized as one of the most innovative designers working today. His vision for the future, as reflected in his concept for the Rice Gallery, is one where furniture and space merge. “Pleasurscape is a metaphor for a continuous world,” says Rashid, “a neutral landscape and an undulating surface that is reconfigurable and sizable ad infinitum.”

“Rashid’s exhibition will explore the confluence of installation art, architecture, and modern design,” notes guest curator Jennifer King. “Contemporary artists, architects, and designers are all thinking about ways to integrate the built environment into our daily lives. The Rice Gallery, a project space dedicated to installation, is the perfect forum to explore how these forms are more alike than different.”

ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Rashid’s product designs include the best-selling Oh-Chair and Garbo Can, both produced by Umbra. He has also designed for clients such as Giorgio Armani, Issey Miyake, and Sony. In 1999, Rashid was recognized as one of the ten most creative furniture designers working today, through the George Nelson Design Award. He is the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Daimler Chrysler 1999 Award, The Philadelphia Museum of Art Collab Award, 1999, and the ID Magazine Annual Review Design Distinction in 1999. Rashid’s work is represented in the permanent collections of many major museums, and he has exhibited work at the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Karim Rashid was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1960. In 1993 he opened his design practice in New York City, where he continues to live and work.

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Guest curator Jennifer King graduated from Rice University in 1996 with a B.A. in Art and Art History. She served as the Visual Arts Coordinator at DiverseWorks Artspace, Houston, from 1996-1997, and worked as a Curatorial Assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from 1997-1999. She is currently a graduate student in the History of Art at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.