Draft:Marcin Rusak
Biography of multidisciplinary artist Marcin Rusak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcin Rusak (born 1987, Warsaw, Poland) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores themes of nature, ephemerality, material transformation, and the passage of time.[1] He works across Modern sculpture, installation art, collectable design and architectural interventions, investigating themes of decomposition, preservation, and the shifting relationship between nature, organic matter and human systems of value.[2] His practice expands the notions of craft and technology, embracing research and development collaborations with materials science and positioning time and entropy as active components of the artwork.[3][4]
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Early life and education
Rusak was born in Warsaw into a multigenerational family of flower growers.[5] His great-grandfather established a horticultural business in 1904[6]; however, the enterprise closed during Rusak’s childhood in the late 1980s[7]/early 1990s,[8] following market shifts in European floriculture which coincided with the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the expansion of Dutch flower distribution networks (see: Royal FloraHolland).[8]
Although he grew up surrounded by abandoned greenhouses and decaying botanical infrastructure, Rusak has noted that this environment was not immediately influential – he recognised its significance only later, during his studies at the Royal College of Art, when he began researching the flower industry and reconnecting with his family history.[9]
Rusak earned a Bachelor's degree in European Studies from the University of Warsaw and, as a free listener, took an Industrial design course at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.[8] He continued his education at the Design Academy Eindhoven (BA, Man and Living), a department known for its conceptual and socially engaged design methodologies. He later completed a Master of Arts in Design Products at the Royal College of Art in London, where his practice became increasingly research-driven and materially experimental.[10]
Career and Practice
Rusak established Marcin Rusak Studio in London in 2015 following his graduation. After the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (see: Brexit), he relocated the studio to Warsaw,[5] where it operates today with a multidisciplinary team spanning industrial production, digital modelling, artistic research, and conservation-based experimentation.[11][12]
His early work examined the global floral industry, and its cultural contexts spanning consumption, decoration and waste.[13] Central to his practice is the transformation of discarded floral matter into sculptures, objects, and installations.[4][12][11][13] By embedding flowers in natural resins such as shellac, synthetic resins, or metallising them in a thermocoating process (see: Thermal spraying), he creates works that either arrest decay or allow it to unfold in controlled conditions.[14]
Rusak frequently collaborates with research institutes including the Łukasiewicz Research Network in Toruń,[15] the Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle in Toulouse,[16] and the AGH University of Kraków.[11][12] These partnerships have supported projects involving enzyme-assisted biodegradation, polymer research, and plant bio-signal translation (see: plant intelligence). His work engages with themes related to entropy, materiality, ephemerality, and ecological responsibility.
Rusak’ art methodology has been described as “Unnatural Practice,”[17] a term referring to his deliberate intervention in natural processes in order to reveal their temporal logic.[18][16] Rather than imitating nature formally, the approach focuses on transformation through growth, decay, preservation, and material mutation.[19] By experimenting with decomposition, preserving plant matter in resin or metal, and developing hybrid material processes, Rusak exposes tensions between industrial systems of production and natural cycles of transformation.[11] The term has also been used as the title of solo exhibitions presenting works that foreground entropy, assisted perishability, and the ethics of material production.[18]
Major projects
Flora, Perma, Glæs
Rusak is most well-known for preserving waste flowers[20] in cast resin sculptures and functional objects (see: resin casting). The works from the Flora, Perma and Glæs series juxtapose the ephemerality of cut flowers with the permanence of synthetic encapsulation, addressing themes of memory, preservation, and fossilisation. In his own words, works embedding plants in resin can function as “time capsules”[21] or “a personal herbarium and a snapshot of the flora at that moment,”[22] positioning the object as a medium for preserving and transmitting knowledge about plants and their context.
Protoplasting Nature and Tephra
In Protoplasting Nature and Tephra, Rusak metallises assemblages of real flowers and leaves using thermo-coating and metallic particles such as bronze and zinc (see: Thermal spraying).[3][12] The process transforms fragile botanical matter into sculptural forms, preserving texture while suspending decay and exploring the tension between ephemerality and permanence.[9] With leaves from exotic plants such as Thaumatococcus daniellii occasionally left unmetallised and protected only with resin, these artworks often reference historical furniture forms[23] or allude to geological specimens (see: tephra).[18]
Flowering Transition
Developed during his RCA graduation period,[24] Flowering Transition investigated the plant breeding industry and the pursuit of a “perfect” bloom. Combining hand-altered botanical specimens, 3D scanning, and digital modelling, the project examined tensions between genetic manipulation and natural limitation.[25]
Nature of Things
Nature of Things comprises installations made from biodegradable composites incorporating waste flowers and natural binders such as shellac, tree resins, or beeswax. Displayed in incubator-like environments, some works are designed to decompose over time, positioning decay as intrinsic rather than destructive.[10][14]
Ghost Orchid
Ghost Orchid consists of digitally modelled sculptures produced in biodegradable PLA. The project references Rusak’s maternal grandfather, an orchid breeder, and reflects on the quest for botanical perfection.[12] The works are designed for controlled biodegradation, questioning permanence in contemporary sculpture.[15]
DNA of Things and Nature’s Monument
DNA of Things and the related Nature’s Monument concept explore the idea of preserving the ecological memory of plants, specifically axiophytes. Encased in sculptures and site-specific art installations that incorporate plant elements in resin pods that reference natural amber, the projects examine how biological information might be encoded or transformed through material processes.[26]
Plant Pulses
Developed in collaboration with researchers at AGH University of Kraków, Plant Pulses combines field research with research into plant signalling (see: Plant perception (physiology)), translating ultrasound emissions from plants into audiovisual installations.[27][28] It was initially presented in 2025 at Tokyo Gendai before debuting at Design Miami later that year.
Transience Pavilion
Transience Pavilion proposes a biodegradable architectural structure designed to be overtaken by native plant species. The project positions architecture as a temporary scaffold within an evolving ecosystem, aligning with principles found in ecological design and biodegradable architecture.[citation needed]
Świdno Foundation
Marcin Rusak established the Świdno Foundation together with Tamara Pilawska Baranowska, Marcin Rusak Studio's managing director and partner.[citation needed] Located in a historic 18th-century estate in Swidno amongst a state-protected nature reserve of the Pilica River, the foundation is conceived as a platform connecting the international art and research community with the local audience, hosting interdisciplinary residency programmes and research laboratories for artists, scientists and students; public exhibitions and workshops, and conducting educational and publishing activities.[29]
Selected exhibitions
Rusak has presented solo exhibitions internationally, including at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Alcova, Ordet (Milan - see: Salone del Mobile), Twenty First Gallery (New York), and the BIO Ljubljana Biennale of Design. His work has been shown at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Design Museum (London), the Horta Museum (Brussels), and Jerwood Visual Arts. He has participated in group exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, and the William Morris Gallery.
Collections
Rusak’s works are held in public and private collections, including the High Museum of Art[30] (Atlanta) and the Centre national des arts plastiques[31] (Paris).
Awards and recognition
Rusak has received numerous awards, including:
- Elle Decoration EDIDA Young Design Talent of the Year (2022)[32]
- Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Prize (2015)[13]
- Wallpaper* Design Award (2016)[33]
- U-50 International Hokuriku Kogei Award (2017)[34]
- Mazda Design Award (2018)[35]
He has also been repeatedly included in the AD100 list published by Architectural Digest.[36][37]