Studio Proba
Studio Proba is anything but one-dimensional, celebrating colour and size in every form of design— from furniture and sculptures to murals and graphic design.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
Dutch Design Week presentation as featured in Elle Decoration. Production & Styling - Monique Van der Reijden. Photo - James Stokes.
Commissioned paintings by Studio Proba. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
Alex Proba is the creative mind behind Studio Proba, but she wasn’t always set on being an artist. Born into a family of doctors, following medicine seemed like the more natural progression. However, after an exchange to Ohio at 16, Alex learnt to appreciate art and craft. “I started drawing, painting and experimenting,” Alex shares. “After I came back home to Germany, I didn’t stop creating.”
At the time, her parents dismissed becoming an artist as a hobby, but while she was studying to become a doctor, the designer discovered a world of spatial and graphic design. If it weren’t for starting med school, Alex would have never transferred to a Spatial Design undergrad in Hamburg, Germany. The designer realised it had been the best decision she’d ever made and followed with Contextual Design at the Design Academy Eindhoven.
While working as a designer in New York, Alex decided to embark on a personal mission to design a poster, every day for almost four years. The project caught the attention of thousands, and from the success, Studio Proba was born. The designer finally became her own boss in 2018. “I think that even though ‘I do it all’, from graphic, art to furniture and product, it all comes from the same spot,” Alex muses. “The beginning is the same; it is within me — my form of expression translated to different mediums.”
Pat Kim X Studio Proba for Industry City. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
“I am first and foremost a visual designer/artist and all my creations are supposed to evoke an emotion. My work is a celebration of color and pattern, which I would see as a positive stimulation of the senses.”
Kin Euphorics Mural, Brooklyn designed by Studio Proba. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
After the posters found fame, Alex began to turn them into textiles, wallpaper, furniture; expanding on her early studies and building practice. Geometric patterns transform walls in huge murals, fuzzy forms take shape on pillows and rugs, and of course, the poster series continues in surreal mixes of photographed objects (eggs, pineapples, and parrots) and abstract graphic design. Recently, Alex has been able to make use of her degree in furniture design, designing her own range that brings the posters to life in sculptural chairs and tables.
For the designer, the works always begin with a two-dimensional sketch, but only when seeing them respond to real objects, Alex finally thinks they are ready. “To have a successful piece, it needs to be beautiful and work from all sides, and all angles,” she shares. Even the murals, while always 2D, seems to speak another language when surrounded by furniture and people.
Studio Proba’s rag & bone mural in New York City. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
To get the creative flow going, Alex considers visuals of life, as well as sounds, smells and memories. She turns these ideas into sketches, making sure to be creative every day — something she describes as daily therapy. But sometimes it only takes a phone call with her grandma to re-inspire her. And when it comes to choosing the colours and shapes, Alex trusts her gut. “The times that I actually question myself and go back and change colour and patterns in my designs is when the design fails,” she adds.
“I feel so incredibly fortunate to have chosen the path that’s right for me, and I feel very lucky to be able to do work I love.”
2020 is looking busy for the artist, working on a new multitude of commissioned pieces. In March she’ll be creating a mural inside a swimming pool, a site-specific installation for EDIT Napoli in June, and developing a lighting collection with Robbie Frankel — with much more to come.
N Moore Street, New York - Custom Rug by Studio Proba. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
“I try and create every single day, even if it’s only sketches of my ideas,” shares Alex Proba. Pictured - A Day In Paradise poster designed by Studio Proba. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.
Living Shapes Public Sculptures by Studio Proba. Photo - courtesy of Studio Proba.