Rusak is renowned for his innovative use of organic materials, exploring the themes of decomposition, preservation and the passage of time in his creations. Specialising in process, research and material investigation, he creates objects, sculptures and installations that explore the overlooked details of our lives and show them in a different light.
“I try to embrace a complex approach to art in order to re-evaluate objects and their significance while celebrating the organic outcome of natural materials and processes,”
— Marcin Rusak.
Marcin Rusak was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1987. Before taking up studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven and at the Royal College of Art in London, where he developed his artistic language, he graduated from European Studies and attended courses at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. As the son and grandson of flower growers, he has long been fascinated by these natural sources of inspiration and decoration. He began engaging with them in his creative process by reusing waste to investigate new decorative elements within everyday objects. This led to a rich body of work ranging from research and storytelling to cultural criticism around consumption and future scenarios. He began his collaboration with Carpenters Workshop Gallery in 2022 with his participation in the exhibition Nextgen: The New Guard at the Paris gallery.
Rusak’s work is often based on overlooked source materials such as waste flowers or discarded metal. His vast material library – a Living Archive – is built around organic (degradable) and synthetic (durable) matter, including floral waste sourced from an extended network of dedicated collaborators and supporters. His techniques often involve preserving these natural elements in various states of decomposition, creating pieces that evoke the impermanence of time. The themes of ephemerality, memory and the relationship between nature and human intervention are central to his work.
Throughout his career, Rusak has received several awards in recognition of his contribution to art and design. These include the prestigious Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon prize (2015), the Wallpaper* Design Award (2016), The U-50 International Hokuriku Kogei Awards, Excellence Award (2017), The Architecture Digest Design Award (2016), the Mazda Design Award (2018) and the EDIDA Young Design Talent of the Year (2022).
Rusak’s work has been exhibited in many prestigious collections and exhibitions around the world. This includes What Is Luxury? At the Victoria and Albert Museum (2015), Flora Noir, Twenty First Gallery (2017), Nature of Things, Jerwood Visual Arts in London (2017), Nature of Things II, Horta Museum in Brussels (2018), Beazley Designs of the Year, The Design Museum (2019), Unnatural Practice in Ordet, Milan (2021), Flora Contemporaria, Twenty First Gallery (2021), BIO 27 Design Biennale in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2022), and Vas Florum, Carpenters Workshop Gallery (2023).
