Jasper Morrison

Jasper Morrison considers himself to be, first and foremost, a conceptual designer. Unconcerned with the novelty of new or unexpected forms, Morrison takes familiar shapes, often banal, and reworks them until a heretofore-unseen work emerges. Born in England, Morrison was raised in both Germany and the United States before his family settled in London, where he attended Kingston College of Art and the Royal College of Art. During school, Morrison was influenced by the work of the Memphis designers out of Milan for their conceptual approach to design. His early work caught the attention of critics and when Morrison was asked to speak at a design conference in Milan, he instead staged a slide show of juxtaposed images. This became the basis of the book "A World Without Words" and in turn piqued the interest of Rolf Fehlbaum, the chairman of Vitra. Since then, what has happened to Morrison's career seems as inevitable as his designs. Morrison has designed a series of plywood chairs and tables for Vitra, a chaise lounge and daybed for Cappellini, a tram for the city of Hanover, and collaborated with the controversial English artist Damien Hirst on the restaurant Pharmacy.