The Interview

Interview by Aleesha Callahan: Berlin-based artist–designer Illya Goldman Gubin treats art as the wellspring for ideas, and furniture and fashion as its other languages. His work courts dissonance and touch, inviting us to see with a child’s clarity while challenging what exactly it is that an object is for.

For Illya Goldman Gubin, art leads. In his process, memory is a tool, and collectable design occupies the space between sculpture and use. For instance, the Karton series presents objects that look precarious yet are rendered as a solid mass. Goldman’s approach to ideas is fuelled by the notion that ‘misunderstanding’ can be its own creative engine.

[1] Your studio works across art, furniture and fashion, how does your thinking or approach change across mediums?

Illya Goldman Gubin: For me, art is the source—everything starts there. It’s the conceptual and emotional core that the other disciplines grow from. Furniture and fashion are just different ways of expressing the same idea, not separate worlds but different dialects of one language.

Art leads, the others follow its rhythm. Sometimes the focus shifts—there’s a phase where I think mostly about art and furniture, and later maybe fashion. But for me the hierarchy stays the same: art is always the beginning and the guide.

[2] Where do you see memory coming out in your work?

Illya Goldman Gubin: Childhood memory played a big role in my cardboard and paper series. In other works, it’s more about trying to see through a child’s eyes again—not remembering, but entering that state of mind. Sometimes it’s about touch, or about noticing things that are usually overlooked. Through that process, I’ve built a kind of aesthetic that’s very raw and primitive, but at the same time carefully thought through.

[3] Your furniture often triggers a sense of dissonance, structures that look fragile but feel solid, such as with the Karton series. How do you find this balance in your process?

Illya Goldman Gubin: In my earlier sculptures, my goal was always to make people want to touch the work—to break those pre-coded mindsets that say art should only be seen and not felt through touch. It was always about creating that sense of dissonance, making something that challenges perception. With the Karton series, I kept the very same narrative but translated it into a new context. Now, the work doesn’t just invite touch, it is more like it demands it.

[4] Many of your pieces are collectable. Where do you see the role of collectable design sitting in the context of art and fashion?

It’s always an interesting topic—when does art become design, and when does design become art? For my practice the collectable design lives exactly in that space in between. It’s a way to translate artistic ideas into something physical and usable, without losing the depth behind them. In my work, the pieces are first artworks, driven by feeling rather than comfort or function. Yet their usability adds another layer, and it allows them to exist.

[5] What does a ‘day in your life’ look like, from ideation to physical making, sketching etc?

My day in life starts very slow and goes often very late. Sport in the morning is a big part of my life and a big slow breakfast—this is my only ritual. I’ve found that these mornings feel for me what Feierabend (a German word that signifies the end of the workday and the beginning of evening leisure time) does for others in the evening.

As for my work process, it’s always difficult to explain, but a word that sums it up is “misunderstanding.” It captures all states. I’m interested in the idea that new thoughts can emerge through misunderstanding—that the unknown can make something known. I rarely sketch at first, I usually see the pieces very clearly in my mind.