Joy van Erven

His works are based on personal fascinations for materials and their surroundings and how they relate to the zeitgeist and decay. His furniture tells a story and has an attitude. Decay and decline is not necessarily a bad thing in van Ervens designs. The recognition of decay on both material and product, results in a down to earth product with a huge awareness of reality. Joy van Erven tries to keep the whole production process in-house. Make things with what you have, keep costs low, the use of minimal tools and local found material are the main red threat in his work. The material mostly dictates the final result en the products always adapt to the materials and possibilities. That is how products are made that fit within the technical and financial possibilities. By working on the cutting edge of art and industrial design a interesting cooperation takes place. A product becomes a sculpture or vice versa. Joy almost never make sketches upfront, the production process for him is the way to turn an idea into form. In his workplace experimental objects are developed that are unique and not made in edition. Often these products are used as prototypes or they take shape in a spontaneous designing process. These products often find there way to museums, galleries or private collectors. Some of these objects get translated into exclusive limited editions, in which each object within the series is unique because every item is handmade. On the other side, in cooperation with detail- and whole sale, collections are produced on a larger scale and can be affordable for a larger audience. His main starting point is the ongoing investigation in the human scale in products, in relation to the materials, designs and, above all, the usability.

  

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