This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
Daniel Weil is an Argentine architect and designer. He was born in Buenas Aires and is based in London. Weil has always questioned the conventions of product design, and his approach has made him a controversial figure in the design world. Many have referred to his products as art objects, but Weil has maintained that he is an industrial designer and that his designs could be mass-produced.
Education
He studied architecture at the University of Buenos Aires from 1977 to 1978. Between 1978 and 1981, he studied industrial design at the Royal College of Art, London.
Biography
In 1981, he designed a series· of digital clocks, radios, and lighting for his firm, Parenthesis. His 1984 Andante deconstructed radio was executed with colourful separate parts housed in a clear plastic bag to be wall-hung. It was part of the Anthologie collection for Quartett. They were viewed as art and utilitarian objects. Various radio designs, screen-printed in colourful motifs and exposed wiring and electronic components, were sold as inexpensive production pieces and as limited-edition items in galleries. Weil believes that design should be technical, stylistic, and intellectual.
He corroborated with Gerald Taylor and founded the design and manufacturing firm Parenthesis. In 1985, he formed a design partnership with Taylor. He became a partner in the Pentagram group. From 1991, he was a professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art. Parenthesis work included the 1981-83 Bag Radio, 1982 Walking Radio, 1982 Cambalache Radio, 1982 China Wall Radio, 1984 Walter flower vase, 1984 Small Door Radio, and 1984 Claire fruit bowl.
Exhibitions
Work has been shown in London, Milan, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, Hanover, and Venice. Andante radio was included in the 1983-84 Design Since 1945 exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Capella, J., & Larrea, Q. (1988). Designed by architects in the 1980s. Rizzoli.
Mallard Press. (1991). The illustrated dictionary of 20th-century designers.
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