Three days of Rimowa aluminum x artist, gem art pieces.

RIMOWA is known for its suitcases. And when we think of suitcases, we think of travel.

As is well known, the last few years have seen a decline in the freedom to travel, and Rimowa's suitcases have found themselves without a place to go. In order to infuse new value into these out-of-use suitcases, Rimowa came up with the idea of a traveling exhibition, "AS SEEN BY.

For this project, artists from around the world created art pieces using the aluminum suitcases synonymous with Rimowa.

The traveling exhibition started in Paris and has been held in Miami, Korea, Hong Kong, Milan, and Beijing, and is being held in Tokyo from August 26 (Fri.) to 29 (Mon.). Here is a small glimpse of the exhibition.

First, let's start with a piece of work that made me worry a little when I saw it. I was a little worried when I saw this work. The artist is architect Yusuke Seki. The title is "New Floor. The total weight of this work, which appears to be a Rimowa crushed into a concrete staircase, is approximately 150 kilograms.

Whether Mr. Seki intended it or not, the result is a work that proves how robust Rimowa suitcases are.

Next is a work by Kanji Hasegawa. Mr. Hasegawa is an artist as well as a Buddhist monk. In this work, a small Rimowa bag is used as a flower vase, and Jyoka (artificial flowers offered to the principal image and ancestral tablets, a type of floral offering), one of the Buddhist ritual utensils, is arranged in the bag. This work is a fusion of the two.

Rimowa's suitcases are known for their stickers. One of the charms of Rimowa suitcases is that you can enjoy how they change over time.

And this piece. The title is "Stickers? From a distance, it looks like a sticker, but it is actually an embroidery. The author is the well-known "Doublet" team. Therefore, there are embroideries of the "WISM" logo in various places.

If you look closely, you can see countless tiny holes. Of course, you can't embroider aluminum with just a needle and thread, so the placement, spacing, and other details are all meticulously calculated, and the process involves drilling thousands of holes.

The three participating artists from Japan are the above three groups. All of these works have a quick impact at first glance, but you can feel the solid craftsmanship behind them. They are wonderful.

Michal Sycz "Audio Traveller"

Fabian Bergmark Näsman "Untitled"

Orange Terry "Optimum Dimension"

Other works include an audio player combined with a suitcase, a suitcase with a horn made of the same material as the suitcase, and a neon suitcase created by a Hong Kong neon artist. You can see the competition between the freewheeling ideas and Rimowa's suitcases.

If you visit this exhibition, you will be reminded not only of the art pieces, but also of the superior function and design of Rimowa's aluminum suitcases. After leaving the exhibition, you may want to go shopping at the Rimowa Store, just a few minutes' walk away, so don't forget to prepare for that.

Photo_Hiroyuki Takenouchi
Text_Keisuke Kimura