Rive Roshan Leaves Space in Between for Reflection, Rumination

In an age plagued by overshare, few artists are producing works that invite viewers to find introspection rather than a photo opportunity. For Design Miami 2023, Rademakers Gallery presented Rive Roshan’s exhibit The Space in Between, whose solution – while fleeting – now echoes through upcoming shows and current commissions. The Amsterdam-based design duo behind the practice, Ruben de la Rive Box and Golnar Roshan, argue through pieces from their former installation that experiential art at any scale, and in a variety of contexts, is transformational.

And the art of thinking couldn’t come at a better time. “We see that there is a lot of misinformation and that people are very quick to base their judgment on whichever input passes by. We want to stimulate people to trust their intuition and their internal motivations,” Rive Roshan says. “The Space in Between was designed to do this, to bring people from various viewpoints and ideas together and let them pause for a moment and reflect. We hope that this helps us all to reconnect.”

The objects, meticulously designed, consider the interplay of light, movement, reflection, and perception – all with the goal of stimulating the senses and engaging passersby. The dimensional tables include the show’s proprietary Space in Between Table – aptly named for the tension created in the pair’s contrast and relative placement – and the Rise table, employ a reflective, vibrant, textured glass that diffuses colored light with the effect of rippling water. Similarly are the Polarity Panels, a series of split-textured glass compositions nuanced in their duality. A line divides two richly tactile and colored components, while simultaneously being united as one holistic circle. The Color Shift Panels share a similar reflective, fluted glass but span across oblong shapes with a shifting color field in a radial gradient. The Shift Wall Light, however, takes all of those devices and repackages them into a tall, rectangular, wall-mounted luminaire, whose atmospheric effects are activated by electricity.

Grounding some of the more atmospheric elements is the Voices collection – a series of 3D-printed sand vessels that marry natural materials with technological innovation. The undulating, ribbed edges evoke imagery of the Japanese kirigami paper sculpture method, or an Iris van Herpen garment mid-pirouette. The very physical folds are an homage, an echo of voices from Iranian women calling for freedom. In addition are the Pebble Stool and Sand in Motion Pleat Side Table, two bronze artifacts that distill characteristics from Voices and present them in contrasting yet corresponding forms. Each permutation of pieces from The Space in Between creates a dialogue between the furnishings themselves and those whose eyes they catch.

As they wrap up one fair and prepare for the next, a smattering of their furnishings are being integrated into bespoke interior installations including a full wall-filling color shift installation at Penn1, a large development project in Manhattan, and a custom commission for an American corporate headquarters abroad. “Incorporating these moments into daily life – such as interior spaces, public spaces or institutions – we have the opportunity to connect with others and if that moment of connection sparks joy or evokes empathy then that is what we hope to have achieved.” Rive Roshan continues. “Through our work we aim to design objects and spaces that influence the mind – we have seen and learned that this is necessary, you do not just design the functionality of an object or a place but you design the influence it has on one’s current state in a moment of experience.”

For more information about The Space in Between, head to Rive Roshan’s site here.