Richard Bell

My current project works in co-operation as a contributor of the Fish and Chips, Twice Please?! project in showcasing my graduate design pieces alongside a selection of project development items including sketchbooks, logbooks and technical progress. My current piece, ‘Bubble Tank’, will be presented within the freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL as part of the exhibition’s New Designer Showcase, immediately following it’s debut presentation at the ‘New Designers’ exhibit at the Business Design Centre in London. My time as Artist-in- Residence with quartier21 is being utilised to prepare my installation concept which, will be presented as part of the accompanying programme of ‘Fish and Chips, Twice Please?!’ I will additionally use my time spent within the MuseumsQuartier Wien to work on the design development of a new piece of work by using local facilities and collaborating with some of the exhibition contributors. 

'My time spent as artist in residence has allowed me the opportunity to begin developing new projects and use Vienna as a base to research further concepts and elaborate on existing work. I have also been given the opportunity to collaborate with further projects by becoming involved as a contributor of the 'Fish and Chips,Twice Please?!' exhibition. One of my most recent pieces, 'Bubble Tank' is currently presented within the gallery space as part of the New Designer Showcase. This particular piece was most recently exhibited in early July as part of 'New Designers' at the Business Design Centre in London before bringing it direct to Vienna. I also participated in the children's workshops in the freiraum as part of the exhibition by making my contribution to an AIDS Awareness patchwork that they were creating for Designers Against AIDS.

I have found the programme to be an incredibly positive experience by allowing me to introduce my work and brand to a new audience here in Vienna as well as posing the opportunity to work alongside and network with fellow artists in the MuseumsQuartier and around the city. I have found Vienna to be a great muse to my work and I have enjoyed seeing the street art here in the capital predominantly the work of previous artist in residence, Brad Downey, as well as other exhibitions here in the MQ including Haring and Basquiat. I have found the support system from Quartier21 towards artists and emerging talent to be of great value to my development as a young designer. I plan to continue utilising the facilities and opportunities during my stay as artist in residence to progress with my future project that encapsulates the idea of form, function and human interaction amongst everyday objects.'