RIO KOBAYASHI

A crooked pencil symbolises an unconventional creative and irregular process, one that embraces irregularity and finds beauty in imperfection. The title’s double meaning, alluding to manipulation and deceit, echoes Kobayashi’s first solo exhibition at Cromwell Place (2023), One Hand Washes the Other – an ambiguous phrase suggesting both collaboration and corruption.

Works in the show have been made from a walnut wardrobe, a mahogany folding screen and reclaimed doors, shelving and fireplaces from a Victorian townhouse. Kobayashi combines wood, metal and glass in functional yet playful compositions, with varied references to science fiction, motorsport and Buddhist iconography. “I use colour to create more of an emotional connection to an object, to give it character and personality. I think colour makes an object feel more personal, almost like a companion.”

Throughout the exhibition, Kobayashi’s characteristic sense of humour and craftsmanship come together in works that embrace a deep attentiveness to materials. By giving discarded materials new form, he opens a dialogue between past and present, between the histories embedded in objects and what they have become.

Rio Kobayashi grew up in the pottery town of Mashiko, Japan and lives and works in London. With both Austrian and Japanese heritage, his design practice draws from his background, blending traditional crafts with modern sensibilities. Kobayashi’s eclectic work takes a collaborative and playful approach to fine craftsmanship, experimenting with fabrication techniques based on a rigorous knowledge of materials. Before setting up his own studio and workshop in East London in 2017, he worked with international studios in Milan, Berlin, Innsbruck and Paris.

Kobayashi was awarded the 2025 London Design Festival’s Emerging Design Medal. His work was shown in the solo exhibition Manus Manum Lavat (One Hand Washes the Other), Cromwell Place, London (2023). Group shows include Rio Kobayashi & Fritz Rauh, Blunk Space, Point Reyes, CA, USA (2025); The Equal Right to Live and Blossom, Kate MacGarry, London (2024); Grazie Enzo: Contemporary Responses to Enzo Mari, Design Museum, London (2024); 100 Hooks, Blunk Space, Point Reyes, CA, USA (2023) and R for Repair, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2022).

Courtesy Kate MacGarry.