IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS THE NEED

 

Tomer Reuven’s works are functional and excel in their minimalist and refined design. They are always accompanied by philosophical reflection, mainly about the world we live in and consumption culture (…). An interview with a designer who knows how to ask questions. 

 

Tomer Reuven loves wandering the desert. The terrain and the quiet are among his sources of inspiration (…). Reuven (40) was born in Jerusalem and has lived in Yafo
for the past 12 years. (…) For Reuven every idea his mind conceives must first fill a need. This philosophy is reflected in his works, which are both highly functional and markedly minimalist and refined. (…) One of Reuven’s projects is a series of hanging flowerpots called Piece of Land. They are flat and shallow containers made of transparent acrylic glass that are hung on the wall, just like a picture.

 

“Because we spend most of our life in an urban environment, and feel a strong yearning for ‘green’, I decided to explore how we can make room for nature in our home”, he explains. “The result is a living picture – a narrow flowerpot hanging on
the wall, whose façade enables a glimpse of the soil & the roots. (…) For Reuven, the process of creation is always accompanied by philosophical thought and reflection, mainly about the world we live in and the culture of consumption.

“I am a manufacturer yet I am not a consumer”, he says, explaining  the conflict he experiences as a city dweller deeply connected  to the desert and to nature.

 

Reuven has not exhibited his work for seven years. “After eight years of study
in academia I felt that I was undergoing a process, constructing a language.
I attribute great responsibility to my profession. That is why I am continuously exploring the relationship between the individual, the product, space and nature.
(…) “I began to design even before I knew what it meant. To this day, a need produces
a strong desire within me to take action, and ‘design’ is the journey to find the most precise response to that need.

 

In Search of Meaning

(…) Reuven gives thought and attributes importance to the names he selects for his works. “The name is an integral part of the product”, he says. For example, a chair made of metal rods and wood is called the T-Chair (a play of words of chair and teacher, in addition to the shape of the chair which resembles the letter T).  The idea was to make something from a two-dimensional piece of metal.  It took over three years to complete the product. Reuven acknowledges that he invests a great deal of energy in each and every detail. Every metal wire, connector and screw is the product of his creation, and is born of a need. Reuven notes that, “Every detailed component undergoes several versions, so that the final product is a whole and complete unit”. 

 

Continuously in search of new technologies, Reuven also has an eye on industry.
“The product may ultimately look like a sheet of metal with a wire, but the process
that is needed in order to reach that point is very long”, he concludes.

 

Concise and Succinct

Motto ‘Enough’ is the grade to achieve. (not very good).