A journey into the surreal realities of Reisinger Studio

Design is ubiquitous. While there are many designers who manage to create incredible products in a specific field, very few manage to blur the lines and produce unbelievable outputs with a particular touch of modernism and sensibility, that is the case of Barcelona-based interdisciplinary practice Reisinger Studio, founded by Andrés Reisinger.

Andrés is an artist, director, product, interior, and 3D graphic designer focusing on industrial design, craft, architecture, sculpture, conceptual art, installation, and 3D digital art.

His work transcends the boundaries of the imagined and the concrete, and his experience collaborating with renowned brands and designers, such as Patricia Urquiola, Cassina, Ikea, Nike, and Microsoft to name a few, merged with contemporary culture make up his eclectic and multidisciplinary practice today. 

Going through the work of Reisinger Studio is like an enchanting journey where imagination and reality merge.

Whether it’s an interior, furniture, or landscapes, you can’t help but be in awe at the surreal yet realistic visuals that fill your mind with soft atmospheres, vivid colors, and organic shapes.

It is through the special sensibility Andrés possesses in his work that Reisinger Studio manages to transport us to another dimension and fill us with undeniable emotion, making it clear why the designer was selected as one of Forbes “30 Under 30” Europe 2020.

Impressed by his talent and captivating work, DesignWanted interviewed Andrés Reisinger and learned more about Reisinger Studio, his style, and unique approach to design. 

Who is Andrés Reisinger? How did the journey for becoming an artist, director, designer & founder begin?

Andrés Reisinger: “I’m Andrés Reisinger, artist, director, product, interior, and 3D graphic designer.

My experience merged with contemporary culture make up my inter-disciplinary practice today; stemming from my last 12 years of experimental and commercial collaborations with interior and furniture designers, and global brands including Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Samsung, Rimowa, Uniqlo, Bloomberg, and Verizon.

I have been recognized as one of the Young Guns Art Directors Club by The One Club for Creativity New York. And also selected by Forbes as a 30 under 30 European talent.

Andrés Reisinger: “I’m creative because I can’t conceive the world as a copy and paste. I don’t identify with reproducing what has been already created.

I don’t assume that’s the way to do things because somebody else did it before. I like to work with the unknown. Only from the unknown, you can land on unseen territory.

I was always dedicated to the creative area.

As a child, I studied 10 years of Conservatory of Classical Music. That activity taught me a lot about discipline.

And then at the University of architecture, they taught me how to break it and turn it into something new.

That’s when I started experimenting with 3D software, which allowed me to test, explore, do and undo quickly without any recourse other than my own time.

During my studies at the university I was lucky to learn not only graphic design, but design in all its faces.

I had many teachers who were architects and artists and at that time I was taught that art and design merge.”

Why Reisinger Studio, why focusing on physical and digital projects?

Andrés Reisinger: “Reisinger Studio is established by a digital team and a physical team.

The digital team is mostly formed by Graphic Designers and Art Directors working on 3D and Animation.

And the physical team is mostly formed by Product Designers and artisans working on new designs or research & development for translating digital objects into physical pieces.

“If you can design one thing, you can design everything” Massimo Vignelli”

Your designs portray impressive dreamscapes where reality merges with imagination. Which designers are you inspired or influenced by? What other fields and inputs outside of the design world provide you inspiration?

Andrés Reisinger: “I found inspiration while working and while playing with things for a long period of time. All of my work starts digitally.

I have been working with 3d software for more than 10 years now, so for me, it’s really natural to directly sketch in 3D.

In this process, I find a variety of outputs, some of them are not expected. I try to always use the process to highlight the end result. This is one kind of inspiration for me, my own process.

Other forms of inspiration usually come from books by authors that are very visual-descriptive, film directors are always a must, modernism architecture and art installations.”

With particular sensibility to the use of light, color, and shapes, the projects of Andrés Reisinger represent modernism and sensibility. Which are the main values, core concepts, or style inclinations that, above all, will always represent the studio and yourself?

Andrés Reisinger: “I always strive for sensibility. No matter a perfectly technical resolution, if the result is something that can’t shock you emotionally. I’m always looking for sensible actions and results.

I like to work with context. I try to deform reality but not too much.

There’s where I find my surreal output.

My work cannot be too explicit or it blends into what we already know. A slight strangeness is the key.

If it’s too weird it’s instantly dismissed; if it’s not strange enough, it is absorbed into everyday reality.”

Atelier Avéus is creating surrealistic scenarios for their furniture, read our interview with them.

With more than 84k followers on Instagram, what is your relationship with social media, and what has been the impact of it on your work as compared to the “real” world?

Andrés Reisinger: “Instagram allows me to share my creations in a free way without mediators. Directly from the result of my creative process towards the people who are interested in it.

That creates a more beautiful relation between me and the people that appreciate my work.

I think Instagram is a very popular and useful platform, a lot of people posting there.

[ Read also 5 digital artists and designers you need to follow on Instagram ]

So directly or indirectly, Instagram makes my work more visible and easy to understand for anyone.

I think some creators are too much absorbed by the attention economy that social media proposes and imposed on us.

When you get used to seeing a lot of new content every day, without any curation, or any value, just another image similar to the image posted by that account that you follow…

Instagram is full of images that are a bad copy of other images that have been popular months or years ago. Monkey see monkey do.

That’s very sad.

As humans we have the intelligence to create, mix, remix, curate, produce new things out of the blue, and through our personal experiences.

It’s very sad seeing lots and lots of copies of the same kind of images, same style of art.

People are really afraid of “not being liked” and that leads them to reproduce what has already been liked.

I think we have to be very conscious about the attention economy and post the content that we really think it’s going to add value to the community.”

If you had unlimited budget and resources: what is the project that you would develop in the physical space?

Andrés Reisinger: “I want to design a house with one of a kind furniture pieces.”

Having made collaborations with designers and worked with global brands such as Ikea, Patricia Urquiola, Cassina, Microsoft, Rimowa, and Nike, how do you choose the type of projects to work on?

Andrés Reisinger: “If the project is not fully signed and decided, it will attract my attention.

As soon as a project gives you fully creative freedom for the process and output, those are the kinds of projects I fully commit to and get involved in.”

Being selected as one of Forbes “30 under 30” Europe into Arts & Style in 2020. What should we expect to see next from Reisinger Studio?

Andrés Reisinger: “We are designing 2 products for a Textile Brand. A totally new exhibition in Copenhagen.

We are developing and will be presenting a new collectible piece.

This year we will be also presenting a trio of illuminated objects.

And we are working on a crazy beautiful project in Belgium for a private collector.”

Digital art films are getting more popular thanks to their ability to stimulate our sense and Maxim Zhestkov is a master in the field.