John Pawson – A True Minimalist
“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.” This is an ideal that I aspire to in my designs and I look for in other designers, architects and artists.
Recently I attended an exhibition of John Pawson’s work called “Plain Space” at the Design Museum in London. The picture below shows comments on his work on his iconic design for a Cistercian monastery at Novy Dvur in the Czech Republic:
John Pawson is a true minimalist. He remains faithful to his principles regardless of fads and fashion and his work does not age.
Below are some pictures from the exhibition from Wallpaper magazine:
He wrote a wonderful afterword to “Architecture of Truth” by Lucien Herve (www.amazon.com/Architecture-Truth-Lucien-Herve/dp/0714840033) and I feel that John Pawson and the builder of Le Thoronet Abbey described in the book are kindred spirits. The book is a gem.
Another worthwhile book is a companion book to the exhibition. “Plain Space” by Alison Morris is well written and has beautiful photographs:
An interesting online interview with John Pawson on the occasion of the exhibition can be viewed here http://vimeo.com/15120773 (it does not require Flash).
John Pawson’s website: www.johnpawson.co.uk/home
John Pawson, like some other excellent architects, occasionally designs products. Here are some examples of his design work from his website:
Comments are closed.