Carles Riart classified: The archives of a furniture designer

Yesterday on November 17, was the presentation of the archives of designer Carles Riart which included a conversation with the furniture designer himself and furniture maker Pepe Andreu. Together they traced the long trajectory of Riart’s career through a selection of his pieces and interiors.

In the front row at the event were: Ricard Ferré, industrial designer and Riart collaborator; Fernando Amat, owner of Vinçon; Josep Maria Tremoleda of Mobles 114; Ramon Parellada of Fonda Europa-Granollers and Josep Mañà, professor and expert on the work of Carles Riart. Also present were: Nina Massó from Santa & Cole; Isabel Campi of The History of Design Foundation; Mònica Piera of The Association for Furniture Studies; Abel de Benito of ADP; Isabel Roig from the BCD; Guim Espelt from the ADI-FAD; Marta Montmany; Jordi Sarrà; Quim Larrea; Josep Ma. Massana and Loles Duran.

The presentation was the culmination of the cataloging the archives which include 600 plans and materials from over 250 projects that Riart gave to the Museu del Disseny and the Documentation Center over a year ago. The event aimed to bring attention to Riart’s work and to open up the possibility for these documents to be used in research as well as to demonstrate the work of Riart and his work methods in order to open up new pathways in the field of furniture design.

Carles Riart, winner of the National Award for Design in 2011, can be described as an artisan of design, extremely dedicated to the durability of his pieces and with an interest in recovering lost typologies and creating new ones that come from a deep understanding of tradition.

Riart began his career in the early 60’s in Gris, a store and design studio created with Bigas Luna. His work is characterized by colors, forms and the names of his designs such as the chair Desnuda, the bookshelf Sensación cercana, the lamp Humo de luz, the table Ojalá and the sofa Perfil siamés.  De la seva col·laboració amb Mobles Casas, un taller d'ebenisteria de llarga tradició, va sorgir mobiliari per a projectes d'interiorisme com l'habitatge del publicista Salvador Pedreño, la Galeria Ciento o l’Snooker Club. He was a pioneer in trying to create democratic design, that was low cost and easy to put together with his Series of modular furniture for you to mount yourself in 1974. But perhaps one of his most imaginative designs was not an object but the torch for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.