Rio Kobayashi

Kate MacGarry is delighted to present a solo exhibition by Rio Kobayashi. Continuing his exploration of repair and reinvention, the exhibition features a new body of furniture and sculptural works crafted from reclaimed materials, salvaged from across London.

Working with doors, shelving, and fireplaces, the artist combines wood, metal, and glass in functional yet playful compositions. “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 the new forms they might become.

Rio Kobayashi (b. 1989, Japan, lives and works in London) grew up in the pottery town of Mashiko, Japan. 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 in 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).