Martí Guixé

Martí Guixé studied at ELISAVA and Scuola Politecnica di Design. The recorded working language is Catalan, Spanish and English. The field of work recorded is design and mixed technique. Work by Martí Guixé is recorded in the collections of Design Museum Gent, National Gallery of Victoria, Design Museum Den Bosch and Centraal Museum. Distinctions recorded are Premi Nacional de Disseny.

• Illustration — Martí Guixé, Do frame, photo Inga Knoelke Guixé is very outspoken in his dislike of design as stylized object and form. Rather than reshaping existing products Guixé’s work claims to alter ways of seeing and thinking. Design to Guixé needs to evoke constant evaluation of the parameters of function and active engagement and reinvention on the part of the consumer. It should be firmly rooted in contemporary experience and not longer in past structures of functionality. Because of this critical and provocative attitude, his work is sometimes associated with the critical design movement, popularized by Fiona Raby and Anthony Dunne, but in general is more playful and less moralistic. His non-objective approach is reflected in the frequent use of disposable or cheap materials and the quick and ephemeral character of much of his work. The final design often seems only one outcome of innumerable possibilities. There are several products in which the shape is not important and the function is more important. I think the way to do that is working basically with ideas, so that the shapes and materials become anecdotal.

An integrated part of Guixés conceptual approach is his interest in design as a platform for questioning, visualising and influencing contemporary human behaviour. With a focus on patterns of consumption, exchange of information and the process of choice. We will see a growth in the number of consumer-curators, personal consumer assistants or, speaking of information, interactive consumption interfaces. What is actually happening at the moment is that some of the people doing this are becoming the brand. It is the interface that is supposed to give you confidence in what you consume and not so much the product. As a consequence the designer's obligation is not just towards the design itself but to how it becomes part of systems of consumption.

Guixés sensitivity towards materials that are quick, readily available and oriented towards mass consumption led him to become an important innovator in food design. He understood food design as a way to re-evaluate and redesign the structure around food, the industry and the consumer. Void from nostalgia, food for Guixé is primarily an edible designed product, an object that negates any reference to cooking, tradition and gastronomy. I am only interested in food, as I consider it is a mass consumption product and I like the fact that it is a product that disappears – by ingestion – and is transformed into energy. For many years food has no longer been a necessity but a consumer product. Most of my food projects are not commercial, but are a way of defining a new perception of this kind of product.

• Illustration — Martí Guixé, Camper Walk in Progress Shop system, Milan 2000, photo Inga Knoelke • Illustration — Martí Guixé, HiBYE Card, 2001, photo Inga Knoelke In spite of his critical attitude Guixé designs products because, as he claims himself, he needs them. Among his clients are: Alessi, Authentics, Camper, Chupa Chups, Corraini, DAMM, Danese, Dentsu, Desigual, Drill, Droog Design, Galeria H2O Barcelona, Imaginarium, Kesselskramer, Mediamatic, Magis, Nanimarquina, Rome Film Festival, Saporiti Italia, Trico, Vitra.

Guixé's work already early in his career aroused the interest of the art field. His designs, installations and performances have been shown in many international group shows as well as solo projects, Among them MOMA, Centre Georges Pompidou, Design Museum London, Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, National Art Center Tokyo, Museum für angewandte Kunst, La Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna.