ART THAT MAKES YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY

The installations and objects of the art and design duo Rive Roshan fit into the spirit of today, because they challenge you to look at the world from a new perspective. “Our work implies progression, development, movement… It is important for everyone to think carefully about how we interact with the world and how we should move forward.” Interview with Ruben de la Rive Box (Naarden, 1981) and his partner Golnar Roshan (Sydney, 1986).Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer

Where does your fascination with design come from?

Ruben: “It is in our genes: Gol's father is a graphic designer, my father is an industrial designer and, together with Wim Crouwel, among others, was a board member of the then Industrial Design Netherlands Foundation (iON) to promote originality in industrial design. and design. Not that we were expected to become designers ourselves, but we did grow up in an environment where that way of thinking prevailed. For example, I had many discussions with my father about design and Gol regularly visited printing companies with her father. We simply felt comfortable with that. Gol and I are different in many ways, we have completely different backgrounds. But when we first met, it seemed like we understood each other on every level. I think that's partly because of the way we grew up, with fathers who are very passionate about all things design and proud to be designers.”
Golnar: “Growing up in an environment where art, music and poetry play a major role is deeply ingrained in us. This contributes to the fact that we ourselves want to live a life filled with creativity, and we recognize that in others. We draw from the same sources of inspiration, share a love for aesthetics and speak the same creative language. I felt an instant connection when I met Ruben for the first time. We had a real creative spark.”

How did you come across each other's path?

Golnar: “I had just graduated in Sydney and applied for a job at Studio Marcel Wanders, where Ruben was working at the time. My application was successful, because I was invited to come to Amsterdam.”
Ruben: “This happened in 2011. The crisis that had erupted in America in 2009 had spread throughout the world around that time. I remember going through hundreds of job applications where you could read desperation between the lines. Gol's letter was distinguished by positivism and enthusiasm. I immediately knew that she would be a pleasant person to work with. I made a top three from all the portfolios and put her at number one.”

How did your vision take shape?

Golnar: “It is constantly developing. Because of our backgrounds, we are both more visual and intuitive than scientific. We look at what we do in a poetic way. That is the basis of everything we have done so far. What has further contributed to our signature is that we are not afraid to work with something we are not familiar with. A lot of what we make comes from the naivety of working with a material or the freedom to look at something from a completely different perspective. We are not bound by one material or one technique.”
Ruben: “We work at the intersection of product, interior and graphic design and often move between art and design. So our work is quite broad.”

Describe your signature.

Ruben: “First of all, it contains a visual wonder and often a reference to nature. All information that comes to you through your senses is processed by your brain. That determines what to pay attention to and what not. The more familiar you are with something, the less attention you pay to it. When you just live somewhere, you notice all kinds of things. After a few years you don't notice anything anymore. In nature it is different. You may be familiar with it, but it still comes in all the time. Something in the human brain can be stimulated again and again. No matter how many times you've seen a sunset, it continues to trigger. A rainbow? Everyone in the office runs to the window to see him. We also strive for the miraculous in our work. Without copying nature - that wouldn't even be possible - we try to make something that has the same effect on people. We want our art to be as attractive as a rainbow. Something that you keep looking at, that continues to amaze you.”
Golnar: “Secondly, our signature has to do with perception. How can we influence someone's perception? The Color Shift Panel – a panel of colored, wavy glass – is a good example: the reflections are different from every point of view due to the changing light. They are always changing, shifting and challenging.”

Why did you actually return to Amsterdam?

Ruben: “I see London as the New York of Europe: a large, international melting pot. When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in the summer of 2016, we knew that this would be the Achilles heel of such a place. And that has proven to be the case. Even though we had a good time in England, we previously considered going back because of family and friends. Brexit made that decision easier.”
Golnar: “We did not want to be in an environment that pushed for non-inclusivity, and felt no connection with the political values ​​that govern there. It was a good decision, otherwise we would have had to deal with a lot of bureaucracy. Moreover, we always had to take a plane, ferry or train from England if we wanted to go to another European city. In the Netherlands you just get in your car if you want to go to a gallery in Paris. That also played a role. And that's why we didn't choose to move to Australia, which was also briefly discussed. We wanted to stay connected to cities like Paris, Rome, Basel and Milan. Normally we go to Australia for a few weeks around Christmas every year, but now with corona that is not realistic because you have to be quarantined for two weeks upon arrival.”
Ruben: “The situation in Amsterdam is very different from that in London. Since we have a daughter, we are less flexible with our time. And in Amsterdam it is not easy to find a large affordable space like the old furniture factory, where you can do everything. We have various workplaces here - a compact studio in the former grain silo, a temporary exhibition space in a canal house, a workplace in Slotermeer - so we now work more separately than before. But above all, what we do is still 'working together'. Partly because a large part of our work consists of talking, discussing and sometimes bickering with each other.”
Golnar: “We always try to find the essence in what we do. You can have as many ideas as you like, what matters is that they have substance.”

Nature is a great source of inspiration for you. Do you spend a lot of time there?

Ruben: “We are not going hiking in the Alps to try to convey the grandeur of the high mountains in a work. For us, nature is more like a raindrop. It's more about the little things, for example how wind blows over sand.”
Golnar: “When we moved to Amsterdam, water became an important element in our work. Our studio is located on the IJ, we only have to look outside to see the movement of water. It is always different, depending on the weather, the time of day, whether a freight ship has just passed by... We are inspired by the daily interaction with the simple aspects of nature.”
Ruben: “Sometimes this leads to almost one-on-one works of art. We were invited by the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to create a work of art that would depict the future life. That happened just when corona arrived. We couldn't travel, had to work from our living room via screens with people on the other side of the world, who would design the artwork. What would future life be like? Maybe this was it: that we are stuck at home, cut off from nature, from the outside. That was already a reality for half of the world's population – who live in cities. The only connection we had with nature were reflections of the sun in the water that drew playful patterns on our wall. This is what Time to Reflect is based on: a series of sculptural moving light objects that bring the rhythm of nature into your home – lens-like glass bowls covered by a thin layer of mica and with a reflective coating.”
Golnar: “And for Moooi Carpets we made water-inspired rugs, the Fluids collection. We literally used photos of the IJ as a basis for this.”

What did your collaboration with KLM entail?

Ruben: “KLM celebrated its centenary in 2019 and wanted a special cover for their inflight magazine Holland Herald. They approached us with the wish that they wanted something 'typically Dutch'. Somewhere that is far removed from us: we are an international studio and very abstract in how we interpret things. So it wouldn't be a tulip, haha. Golnar's very first experience with Holland was from behind the airplane window. She was struck by how organized our country is: with straight lines and ditches, roads and fields, tulip fields... Even the forests are square. When the sun reflects in the ditches, that pattern lights up the landscape very beautifully. Ultimately we created a composition, entitled Dutch Light, in which light, color and the organization of the country come together. We find it more valuable to reinterpret something than to do something clichéd – we do want to add something to the culture.”

Do you collect design?

Ruben: “If something comes my way that is really beautiful, I like to buy it. At home we have the Knotted Chair by Marcel Wanders, a table and chairs by Piet Hein Eek, the Smoked Chair by Maarten Baas, a panel by Tord Boontje and all kinds of accessories by Tom Dixon. You mainly see the history of where we worked. For the first time, we now have something of our own in our house.”

Where do you expect to be in ten years?

Golnar: “We have dreams… We would love to create something for the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. A place with impact.”
Ruben: “We strive for a place where we can work as a couple, but also as a team. To implement our ideas we need space to create projects, people to help us and places to exhibit. The Turbine Hall is a location with history, where work has stood that has inspired us. Our ultimate goal is to create a work that truly changes the way someone views the world. Just like Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds did for me, an installation that was exhibited in the Turbine Hall in 2010. When Alexander McQueen had just died, we went to a retrospective of his work. There you could really see how his creations have changed the way people look at fashion. The difference in the world before and after him was clearly visible. I hope that in ten years we will have a similar impact, or at least be on the right track.”