“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 is a London-based artist and multidisciplinary designer interested in ideas of value, ephemerality and aesthetics. 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.  

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).  

Solo Shows
2023 Vas Florum, Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Paris, France.
2022 Flora Contemporaria. Twenty First Gallery. New York City, USA.
2022 DNA of Things, Palaca Cukrarna – BIO27 Satellite Programme. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2021 Flora Contemporaria, Twenty First Gallery. Design Miami, USA.
2021 Unnatural Practice, Ordet. Milan, Italy.
2020 Encoded Symbols: Protoplasting Nature, Carwan Gallery. Athens, Greece.
2019 White Perma, with Sarah Myerscough Gallery. Design Miami, USA.
2018 Nature of Things II: Horta Museum. Brussels, Belgium.
2017 Flora Noir: Twenty First Gallery. New York, USA.
2015 Inflorescence and Other Artefacts: Contemporary Applied Arts. London, UK.

Selected Group Shows
2024 Genius Loci, Maison Bernard. Théoule-sur-mer, France.
2024 Design Sediments, Huidenclub. Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2023 The Banquet of Wonders: Delighting in the world, Château Perrier, Épernay, France.
2023 Material Beings. London Craft Week, Cromwell Place, London, UK.
2023 Plant Fever. Towards a Phyto-Centered Design, Schloss Pillnitz, Wasserpalais. Staatliche
Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden.
2023 Material Beings, London Craft Week, Cromwell Place, London, UK.
2022 Creative Nature, Grande Halle, Anciens Abbatoirs. Mons, Belgium.
2022 Ferragus. Retti Candle Store. Vienna, Austria.
2022 Design Miami, Twenty First Gallery, Miami, USA.
2022 NEXTGEN | The New Guard: Paris. Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Paris. France.

2022 Beyond Nature, MAKE Hauser & Wirth. London. UK.
2022 Homo Faber, Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Venice. Italy.
2022 FOG Art Fair, Sarah Myerscough Gallery. San Francisco. USA.
2021 Young Poland, William Morris Gallery. London. UK.
2021 Wilder Than Wildness Itself, MAKE Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Bruton. UK.
2021 Plant Fever, Museum für Gestaltung. Zürich. Switzerland.
2021 Doppia Firma: Il Giardino Talentuoso, Palazzo Morando. Milan. Italy.
2020 Plant Fever, CID au Grand-Hornu. Belgium.
2019 Collect, Sarah Myerscough Gallery. London. UK.
2019 Beazley Designs of the Year 2019, The Design Museum. London. UK.
2019 The Chair, The Future Perfect. New York, USA.
2019 FOG Art Fair, Sarah Myerscough Gallery. San Francisco, USA.
2018 Time Within Time: Verbeke Foundation. Kemzeke, Belgium.
2018 FOG Art Fair, Sarah Myerscough Gallery. San Francisco, USA.
2018 Design Miami, Sarah Myerscough Gallery. Miami, USA.
2018 The Salon Art + Design: Sarah Myerscough Gallery. New York, USA.
2018 Art House, Designblok, Prague, Czech Repubilc.
2018 Decorex Future Heritage. London. UK.

2018 Botanic Psyche duo show with Marlene Huissoud: Spazio Nobile Gallery, Brussels, Belgium.
2017 Hokuriku Kogei Summit: “WORLDS KOGEI 100”: Toyama Museum of Art and Design, Toyama, Japan.
2017 Jerwood Makers: Jerwood Visual Arts, London, UK.
2017 Rising Talents Award: Maison & Objet, Paris, France.
2016 Design Miami Basel: Nature Lab. Miami, USA.
2016 handiCRAFT: Traditional Skills in the Digital Age, MAK Vienna, Austria.
2016 London Design Festival: British Craft Pavilion. London, UK.
2016 Breathless, London Design Festival. London, UK.
2016 Design Miami Basel: Nature Lab. Basel, Switzerland.
2016 Design Days Dubai: Crafts Council. Dubai, UAE.
2015 What Is Luxury?: V&A, London, UK.
2015 Ready, Made, Go: ACE Hotel Shoreditch, London, UK.
2015 Future Heritage: Decorex. London, UK.
2015 Biennale internationale Design. Saint-Étienne, France.
2015 Concerning Plants: Select Festival, London, UK.