Deconstructed Minimalism
by Ryuichi Kozeki / RKDS
As a child, I used to play with making shapes by gluing together objects around me. I had no knowledge of structure or mechanics, but I still felt a sense of satisfaction, and that feeling remains to this day.
If I had been exposed to sophisticated toys from Naef at that time, what kind of shapes would I have made? In addition to reproducing sophisticated shapes, I would have enjoyed trying to make chaotic shapes. Even if there was a correct answer, I was a child who was attracted to creating different solutions if I had the freedom.
Even objects designed with rationality in mind do not always reveal their intention when used. As Derrida suggests, meaning is never fixed. If something is given, its interpretation is always in flux.
Minimal materials and structures can be thought of as containing the possibility of chaos and deconstruction depending on the interpretation. They exist in a state of overlap, and I think the idea of "Deconstructed Minimalism" lies in the act of exploring the series of processes of interpretation and results.
Ryuichi Kozeki is a designer based in Tokyo. After graduating from Tama Art University, he gained experience in a design studio and opened his studio in 2011.
Kozeki sees the role of design as the discovery and renewal of value. He is strongly interested in the basic principles and structure of things and pursues essential simplicity in his designs. In addition, he sometimes takes an architectural and spatial approach as his starting point and adds a design that is conscious of the relationship between things, places, and people. Based on this thought, he not only works with clients but also considers and presents aspects of contemporary design through experimental work production.
