Jonathan Trayte brings a unique sensibility to the design discipline. His works provide nuanced witness to an age of overabundance; they are exuberant, mordantly witty, with an undertow of melancholy. The compositions, with their intuitive and improbable juxtapositions, recall surrealism while also roaming freely through contemporary pop iconography. Trayte is also a prodigious maker, and incorporates numerous media into his complex creations. He joined us from his London studio to discuss his new show at Friedman Benda, “MelonMelonTangerine“.
Watch the conversation here:
Inaugurated in April 2020 in response to the pandemic lockdown, Design in Dialogue began as a way simply to keep the conversation going, and offer a meeting place for the design community.
Over time, the series has become an opportunity to expand the dialogue in unprecedented ways, exploring the breadth and diversity of design. Guests are able to speak safely and freely, in a conversational format offering audiences access to the full dimension of their practices.
We have recorded dialogues with over a hundred designers, makers, artists, architects, critics, historians, writers and curators, and heard them discuss their work and ideas in-depth, direct and unfiltered. To date, the series has been viewed over 700,000 times through our two channels (YouTube and Vimeo) and our distribution partners Dezeen and Designboom.
The world is shifting gears again now, as online connection gives way once more to in-person events. With this in mind, we have decided to transition from our regular weekly broadcast. Design in Dialogue will still continue in the fall of 2021 and beyond, with occasional new interviews. The archive will remain freely viewable in perpetuity, serving as a vital primary source of this moment.
