Kate MacGarry is delighted to present Rio Kobayashi's first exhibition with the gallery, continuing his exploration of repair and reinvention through the use of salvaged materials.
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 and Best Curio for his commission for Blunk Space at Design Miami 2024. His work was shown in the solo exhibition Manus Manum Lavit (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, Los Angeles, USA (2023) and R for Repair, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2022).