Arik Levy: Man of Many Forms

Arik Levy is a multi-disciplinary creative, operating as a designer, artist, technician, photographer and video artist, and his work can be found in galleries and museums around the world. His creativity is no doubt at least partly influenced by his varied, international background. Born in Israel, he spent time working in Japan and across Europe, and he currently works from his studio based in Paris.

His prolific output is explained a little by his quote that “creation is an uncontrolled muscle”, and that can certainly be seen through the passion shown in his work on public sculpture and spaces, as well as a wealth of art and exhibition installations.

His work as an industrial designer – or ‘industrial artist’ as I think he prefers – is what sets him apart from many artists however, through a series of collaborations that fuse his questioning, artistic tendencies with real practical purpose. He has teamed up with brands to develop bathroom sanitaryware and furniture, brassware, worksurfaces, carpets, and a host of other product categories.

At the very heart of all of his work however, is a focus on the individuals who are to experience it. “The world is about people,” he says. “Not objects.” It is this outlook which has done much to ensure that his work resonates with anyone who comes into contact with it.

So how does he marry this artistic vision with the practical demands of industrial design? For him, the process is relatively seamless. “Art is art and product design is product design,” he explains. “They are both connected within me and the outcome is a result of me and my projections. Product design benefits from the art in forms of freedom of the mind, narratives, harmony space intuition, harmony and contrast, whereas art benefits from design in forms of materials, knowledge, logistics, and construction.”

He believes that the mission of design is primarily to problem-solve and to deliver a service, as well as improving everyday life. On the other hand, art is an uncontrolled reflex, door opener and trigger.

“The fusion of art and design and the in-depth understanding of the financial mechanism and efficiency give me the unique ability to help any industry and provide tailor-made solutions for the future. The real beauty is in both art/design and with a real sense of function.”

Of course, winning awards is not new to Levy, but winning the Lifetime Achievement honour at the Designer Kitchen & Bathroom Awards – an event dedicated solely to design excellence in the K&B sector – represents a more holistic acknowledgement of his work than perhaps many of the accolades he has won for individual designs. He says: “A lifetime achievement award really makes you look at yourself and backwards. Design is often reduced to forms and colors, or images and fairs, but everyone should not forget the huge amount of efforts and thinking, good intentions and human investment behind it.

He believes that the awards event itself – held in London in October 2019 – was a great example of this too. “I saw a great group of people getting together, being passionate about the same things, chatting, shaking hands and having a great moment spending time together, even if in the day-to-day life, most of them are business competitors. It underlines that in every sense, the world is about people.”

His acceptance speech highlighted a topic that affects designers, manufacturers and consumers on a daily basis – and one which will certainly continue to be a key issue in the years to come. He spoke about the urgency and responsibilities of us all towards the environment, and how that affects both the design process as well as consumer behaviour. “I actively involve my team and partners with these issues. We are what we drink and eat. Our wellbeing is not a choice or an option, whilst a bathroom size is. That means that the global design process and architecture, building process, urban and infrastructure development needs a shift into a new era.

“What we all need to do is raise the minimum level, increase performance and make space for a change. I would say that, at the moment, the solution is not what kitchen top you have but what you tell your kids at dinner! Long lasting, high performance and ecologically concerns thoughts are all good and critical.”

Currently, Levy’s studio works across a range of simultaneous projects – often quite contrasting in nature. For example, he has been designing taps for bathroom brand THG Paris, as well further work on a long-term collaboration with Spanish surface brand Compac. At the same time, Levy has been unveiling one of his most important art installations, located at the newly-built Hermitage Modern Contemporary Museum in Moscow, and taking the form of a sculpture which he says will “change the relationships between art and space, people and meaning in the urban environment”.

His versatility is perhaps what has helped him adapt to a constantly changing world of consumer requirements and expectations. “The role of the designer has not really changed,” he says. “What has changed is the appreciation and the understanding of the importance of the designer and their thoughts, intuitions and process. In some ways, the consumer has not changed either, since it has always been the case that consumers ask for the very same basic things: respect; quality; service; performance; fairness; and mindfulness.”

He adds that what has changed is our perception of time, our ability to concentrate and relax. Levy thinks that the world is so much better than in the past in many aspects of life, but over-consumerism, production, and a ‘more is more’ attitude is what need to be changed, encouraging us all instead to revert back to some core values: “Listen to the creative, make space for vision, have the courage to go to a place you have never been before, program the future instead of dragging the past, learn from the past and project the future and, above all, never forget that love counts.”