Philosophy
Michael Anastassiades is a Cypriot-born, London-based designer whose practice encompasses product, spatial interventions and experimental works, often transcending the distinctions between different fields of creativity.
Anastassiades’ practice contemplates both industrial production and artisan techniques. In doing so, it expands into a vivid, nuanced balance between improvisation and structure, control and intuition. With a career spanning more than 20 years, Anastassiades has conceived lights, furniture and objects characterised by a poetic yet rigorous interpretation of technology, materials and functions. His work draws inspiration from many sources, which he distills into pure, simple structures. From nature to archaic references of his native Cyprus, the history of Modernism, very personal memories, art and everyday life, he transforms a rich set of diverse references into a timeless vocabulary of form and structure.
Michael Anastassiades founded his studio in London in 1994. He trained as a civil engineer at London’s Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine before taking a masters degree in industrial design at the Royal College of Art. His work is featured in permanent collections at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the MAK in Vienna, the Crafts Council in London, the FRAC Centre in Orleans France and the The Saint Louis Art Museum. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Reload the Current Page’, at Point Centre for Contemporary Arts Nicosia, 'Time And Again’ at the Geymüllerschlössel MAK in Vienna, ‘Doings on Time and Light’ at Rodeo Gallery, Istanbul, ‘To Be Perfectly Frank’ at Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm, ‘Kinetic Light 2 – Gold Pendulum’ at the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Norfolk House Music Room in London, Cyprus Presidency at the European Parliament in Brussels Belgium, ‘13 Mobiles’ at Atelier Jesper in Brussels, ‘Things That Go Together’ at NiMAC in Nicosia and ‘Silver Tongued’ at Taka Ishii Shop in Hong Kong.
Anastassiades is a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) at the Royal Society of Arts. He is involved in educational programmes at international institutions such as Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and ECAL, Lausanne.
The Michael Anastassiades Studio has collaborated with various manufacturers, including Flos, B&B Italia, Herman Miller, Cassina, Mutina, Molteni, Glas Italia, Alessi, Tacchini, Koyori, Bang & Olufsen, Puiforcat, Fratelli Fantini, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Roda, Lobmeyr, Salvatori, Svenskt Tenn, Carl Auböck and Sigmar London, Coedition and SCP. The Studio has also designed limited-edition collections for Nilufar Gallery in Milan, Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery in Copenhagen and Taka Ishii Gallery in Japan.
Michael Anastassiades’ design philosophy is to preserve the inherent qualities of the materials he uses. All of the products we make in the studio are artisanally made and come in natural finishes, exposed to the elements without any protective lacquers. We see oxidation as a process that only adds to the patina of an object, making it more beautiful over time. We ensure that all goods leave our premises in pristine condition, however sometimes products may arrive with minor oxidation marks. In such cases, we would advise you to clean these marks using the instructions provided by the Studio, or consult the Michael Anastassiades Studio directly.