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Ron Arad’s Unconstrained Objects and the Mind Behind Them

Observer sat down with the artist and designer, recently named CBE by King Charles III, to discuss how he unites form, function and artistic innovation by tapping into a wit and humor that “never follows instructions.”

“What happens if you have a ping-pong table that is not straight, that has a curve?” Designer Ron Arad never runs out of ideas that push through existing forms, shapes and concepts. “I never follow instructions. If you can have a career that doesn’t rely on you following conventions or instructions, you are very lucky. And I consider myself lucky,” he tells Observer. But it’s more than luck—a mastermind full of imagination that never surrenders is what Arad offers to the world of design and to the people who have the pleasure of living with his work.

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Arad is among the most prominent artists and designers of our time. This June, he was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to art and design in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List. One of his signature interior pieces is the Glider, designed for Moroso, an Italian furniture company. It looks like a solid, heavy piece—just a lump. In contrast to the stereotype that modern design is a pure play of forms and technologies with no regard for function, Arad’s works achieve an incredible level of comfort without compromising artistic innovation. Despite its heavy appearance, the Glider is flexible and comfortable thanks to carefully designed mechanisms hidden inside. It can bounce up and down like a cushion and move to the front and back, like an American porch glider, which Arad himself enjoys playing with.

“Form and functions are not enemies. They are good friends, they support each other,” Arad explains. “I’m talking here, sitting on a chair I’ve designed. It’s the most comfortable chair to be interviewed on. If something doesn’t seem comfortable but you realize how wrong you were when you sit on it, it is a good surprise that breaks the expectation. It would be much worse if the opposite happens.” When his metal furniture piece The Well Tempered Chair was on show in London, people were scared and had to think twice before they dared to try it. “When they came and sat on it, they all said the same thing, as if someone had written a script for them: ‘Actually, it’s very comfortable.'” Part of the beauty of Arad’s design lies in the play of such expectations and the unpredictable ways........

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