ALEXANDER ROZUMOWSKI
Alexander Rozumowski is a Ukraine-born Polish artist and designer.
Since 2002, his professional path has shifted from painting and applied art to complex industrial design and then back to art again through product and furniture design. Started his career as a woodcarving artist he was involved in studying the traditional cultures of indigenous people across Europe and Asia. Exploring their way of life, their folk art, ornament systems, religions, beliefs, and superstitions, he'd intuit how all of that was formed their daily routine making it easier and more beautiful.
During his student time, he was wondering not about the theoretical knowledge of folk art only, but about the applied side of this art. Keeping practicing woodcarving and experimenting with old-fashioned finish technics, carving methods, instruments, and shapes, but at the same time implementing some modern approaches into his work process, he became more and more passionate about function. Gradually, his artworks became increasingly design works.
Wooden sculpture 'Flora'. Cedar, woodcarving, 600 mm tall. Year: 2001.
Watercolor painting, 1300 x 900 mm. Year of creation: 2002.
Relief wall "Archaic World". Alabaster, carving, toning. 4000 x 3900 mm. Year of creation: 2002.
Since 2008 Alexander Rozumowski shifted his focus to industrial and automotive design completely. However, art experience has left an imprint on his way of thinking and inevitably impacted his approach to design.
One of the first significant achievements in the new professional direction became winning the Interior Motives Design Award 2008 in Paris. Alexander Rozumowski's concept presented in this automotive design competition was dedicated not to the car design itself, but to a greater extent transportation system. Namely, the "mobile office system" integrated into the urban transportation system. Back in far 2008, Alexander Rozumowski started thinking about changing the approach to the office work organization, by blending two systems (transportation and office). The idea was to convert increasing human mobility into productivity, making people's daily life more conscious, relaxed, and fruitful. A decade later the relevance of this theory was supported by the sad circumstances of crises and pandemics, which finally caused some changes in the system of human labor organization.
Working on his master's thesis and lately on Ph.D. Alexander Rozumowski was studying the impact of habitat design on shift workers who work in extreme natural conditions. The point was about how the design can improve their routine life, making it easier and closer to "home". His art experience and knowledge of the traditional cultures of indigenous people and their applied arts came incredibly in handy.
Beginning in 2010 Alexander Rozumowski starts to collaborate with startups, large consumer product manufacturers, and scientists as an industrial designer. The 'system approach to design' became a key within his design activity. Among the projects he concentrated on during this period are such complex designs as X-Ray medical equipment, laboratory devices, DNA analyzers, Food Service Equipment, home appliances, etc.
Being part of a large engineering team is essential for these kinds of work. Teamwork, discipline, timelines, and schedules become routine for Alexander Rozumowski. Self-expression getting a secondary factor. During this period Alexander Rozumowski was established as an experienced industrial designer.
Starting in 2015 his passion for functional design, complex logic systems, and mechanical beauty that has been prevailing before begins balancing with striving for simplicity and creative freedom. Meanwhile, the combination of design skills and artistic background he possessed has proved to be indispensable in furniture design. As a consequence, in his creative search, Alexander Rozumowski goes headlong into the design of furniture for contract customers. The new scope of interest now is around the seating furniture. He creates designs for chair manufacturers in Europe and USA.
This part of Alexander Rozumowski's creative way was marked by numerous awards, publications, and exhibitions, including A'Design Awards (Como, Italy), European Design Awards (Narva, Estonia), Salone Satellite (Milano, Italy), Fuorisalone (Milano, Italy), ICFF (New York, USA), IMM Cologne (Cologne, Germany), Stockholm Furniture Fair (Stockholm, Sweden), Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven, Netherlands), etc.
Back in 2018, living in San Diego, California, collaborating with the "Old Fashioned Lumber" woodworking shop his vision of 'good design' began to change. Preserving his views on function, strict ergonomic analysis, and his overall approach to the design process, Alexander Rozumowski begins his search for new design experiences. He is gradually shifting his focus to collectible furniture, crafted items, and limited-edition art objects. These changes have brought new notions, such as 'soul' and 'spirit,' to the author's creativity. Textures, materials, colors, and shapes become closer to the natural world. His still strict design becomes more emotional.
Despite the fact that today, Alexander Rozumowski's creative activity focus gravitates toward art again, he came up with a way how to combine such a wide range of so contradicting creative fields of interest. The story is just beginning, stay tuned...