originally from vancouver, canada, tobias wong creates in new york. after studying art and architecture, he graduated in sculpture from the cooper union. wong treats design as a medium rather than a discipline to show how it embraces the aesthetics traditionally relegated to the fine arts. he’s coined the term “paraconceptual” to describe his dismantling of the hierarchies between “art” and “design.” in wong’s hands, both have similar goals.

tobias wong in his studio

remote control light switch designed for conduit group

real gold capsules… so you can shit gold… talk about social criticism

the “mirror” puzzle set a black one was done in collaboration with commes des garcon – good luck with that

wong has a way of looking at the ordinary and transforming it into something extraordinary, as expressed by his bent pencil (above), reverse diamond ring (below)

smoking mitt for those very cold days (below)

“protect me form what i want”

not merely conceptual, his work mocks its own consumption. wong literalized this message with a jenny holzer tattoo on his right forearm: “PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT.” this maxim was written on wong’s flesh by holzer herself, then made permanent with injected ink. equally indelible are wong’s readydesigneds (replacing the anonymous readymade objects with well recognized designer pieces) refashioned. these new forms and aesthetic concepts brace against, appreciate, and invite desire. wong’s continuing exploration of this conundrum goes beyond the paraconceptual to projects he now refers to as “postinteresting”…