They are designers, colleagues and lovers. Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk met at the Design Academy in Eindhoven and have been inseparable ever since. She is inspired by the forms of nature and her wide range of work includes carpets, ceramics and furniture. Collaborations with Hermès and MOOOI are to her credit. He has a genuine fascination with the construction of the object and creates mostly iconic designs, commissioned by The Rijksmuseum, among others. The duo Kiki and Joost are featured with their surprising works in galleries, exhibitions and museums all over the world.Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
"I see this totem as an altar. An altar for the imagination. During the first Covid-19 wave, Joost and I worked at home for 3 months. Every day - together with our sons aged 3 and 7 - we made a clay candlestick - as a kind of occupational therapy. Then I discovered how wonderful it is to clay unpretentiously. Just form freely and see what comes out. That has actually been the basis for my latest series Ceramic Totems. Cor Unum is a fantastic artisanal ceramic company that I have had a very warm relationship with for 18 years. At their factory I had the opportunity to experiment freely through an artist-in-residence, this was fantastic and very liberating. I formed everything myself by hand from stoneware so that precisely my touch is still visible and the imperfect may be celebrated. The relationship between hands and clay is the basis of the ceramic art form. The totems are a literal expression of dedication to that art form. Investing time, passion and love. "Photo: Studio Kiki & Joost
"In my series Interlocking panels, I started from individual parts that are slid together without glue, screws or welding. Unlike previous No screw no glue objects, in this series I meticulously shaped each individual part so that each part has its own quality. The individual parts are soft, pebble-inspired shapes. Very organic and flowing. The coming together of these individual parts form objects where the parts form a harmonious symbiosis. The parts are satinized and the edges polished. This emphasizes the parts and creates a beautiful interplay of lines. These objects are made of solid brass in an exclusive, limited edition. "Photo: Mariëlle Leenders
"Here I am in one of the most magical spaces of my solo exhibition at the TextielMuseum Tilburg. This space is about memories. Memories of a vista, of a season, time... Joost created the soundscape for this space, combined with the constantly changing light it plays very strongly on the emotion. It becomes almost a spiritual experience. At the opening, a collector called it a temple. You can spend a very long time in this space because you keep seeing something different. The richness of materials and most extraordinary threads of all these tapestries, rugs and collages can never cease to amaze you. If you keep looking for a long time you will also discover phrases on the wall: my thoughts. I worked on this exhibition for almost three years in preparation and the last 1.5 years very intensively with scenographer Theun Mosk. This was a very pleasant collaboration, of which I have fond memories. Thanks to this collaboration it has become better. By not only showing, but also letting people do and hear, my oeuvre unfolds through the exhibition. It has become an exhibition that appeals to multiple senses. That is why I want to return more often to be there... Fortunately, that is possible because it will remain there until September 2021. "Photo: Roos Pierson
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