Alex Proba
Having recently covered her Hill House Pool artwork installation, we decided to check in on artist and designer Alex Proba after our last pre-pandemic profile.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
‘I just take it day by day and go with the flow. A plan or vision would stress me out and would not leave much room for magic or surprises,’ says Alex Proba. Photo: Courtesy of Studio Proba.
Product design for the Marrow House. Photo: Madeline Tolle & Studio Proba
We are huge fans of German-born, US-based artist and designer Alex Proba here at Hunter & Folk after falling in love with her geometric, colourful artworks and design that leap from walls, pools, sculpture and graphic design.
Alex’s designs come institutively, and she shares she often works without a formal process. Instead, the designer pulls inspiration and techniques from across her background in graphic design, interior architecture, and furniture design to make up brands Studio Proba and Alex’s newly launched Proba Home—a spot for us to bring ‘home’ her textile, homewares and art pieces.
‘I feel I wear a lot of hats all the time, and I love the non-process of it,’ Alex muses. ‘I almost always have an intense urge to bring something to life.’
The incredible works of Studio Proba are mostly a one-woman show, with Alex managing the head and development stage of every project — even through to communication, packing, and shipping. However, this huge effort worked in her favour during the pandemic, as the designer was able to continue working solo.
‘The only thing that kind of went away was travelling for murals and other projects,’ Alex shares. ‘But that is luckily slowly coming back, which is great as I miss it a lot. It’s funny, when friends send me WFH memes and jokes, I can’t really relate as I’ve been alone in my studio or home before covid!’
Beginning with a two-dimensional sketch, Alex invites her designs into the real world, considering composition, three-dimensionality and how her audiences will react to all the angles. This is when her designs become “alive” — from murals and rugs for Hotel June’s Los Angeles lobby to quirky, colourful furniture.
Proba Heavy Blankets designed by Studio Proba, hand-woven from New Zealand wool by expert weavers in India. Photography & art direction: Caroline Fayette & Marina Melentieva.
Aurora Tile Collection – designed for and available at Concrete Collaborative. 3D Visualisation by Ariel Palanzone & Francesco Lucini.
Proba Heavy Blankets designed by Studio Proba. Photography & art direction: Caroline Fayette & Marina Melentieva.
“Challenges are mostly the rocks that I put in my own way by questioning or overthinking. To make me stop and continue the unknown path, I mostly just need a call with my grandma or a walk with my pup Sam.”
Product design for the Marrow House. Photo: Madeline Tolle & Studio Proba
Manhattan Park Pool – Studio Proba covered the 8,000-square-foot deck of Roosevelt Island’s Manhattan Park Pool Club with a kaleidoscopic mural. Photo: Max Touhey.
‘That is probably the most fun part of the process to take a 2D drawing/design and apply it to the real world,’ Alex reflects. ‘You tend to spend hours (over)analysing each element. Not just the shapes but also the patterns/textures have their own challenges — bringing them to life is equally challenging, but the outcome is even more gratifying.’
Being a designer in 2021 brings with it awe-inspiring opportunities — like the pool art installation or Alex’s exciting set design project for a new tv show/series (coming soon!). However, it also invites the exploitation of contemporary designers who share their works online and can be easily copied.
Alex recently had a batch of designs blatantly stolen by IKEA, which shocked and angered her fans and herself beyond belief. ‘A manufacturer in India just sells one-to-one copies of all my textile goods to other “makers” and stores around the world.’
‘It brings me into a dark hole where I just feel defeated and where I just don’t want to create anymore,’ Alex continues. ‘Luckily, my community is so big and supportive that they seem to bring me out of that hole every time.’
As Alex has found, this community online can be so enormous in support — something most of us discovered throughout the pandemic as we banded together for BLM and, recently, fundraising for India’s covid efforts.
‘If you have something to say and you have an audience, I feel like you have to fight for what is right,’ Alex explains. ‘Staying silent would be the wrong thing to do, in my opinion — I try to educate myself as much as I can.’
Staying positive and inspired is as essential for Alex as it is for us all. To overcome challenges, a call with her grandma or walking her dog keeps the road ahead feel less unknown and continues to generate the magic and surprises we can expect from Studio Proba or Proba Home.
Custom mural and rug in Hotel June’s Los Angeles lobby, designed by Studio Proba. Photo: courtesy of Studio Proba.
“Everything starts with 2D sketches for me – to take that sketch and make it something real and tangible fulfils me and makes me happy.”
Custom mural in Hotel June’s Los Angeles lobby, designed by Studio Proba. Photo: courtesy of Studio Proba.
Slash Objects X Studio Proba – the two female designers fused Proba’s signature shapes with Slash's distinctive materials to create a unique, and playful series of rugs and table mats. #D Visualisation by Ariel Palanzone.