Tejo Remy is an independent designer based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Originally trained as a carpenter, he graduated in Design from the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht.

As one of the founding designers of Droog Design, Remy’s work became closely associated with the collective’s pioneering and conceptual approach to design. Throughout his career he has explored the potential of existing materials, reuse, improvisation and unexpected outcomes. Rather than beginning with a fixed solution, his work often starts with the material itself. He sees design as an open process in which curiosity, craftsmanship and chance play an equally important role. This philosophy has resulted in iconic works such as the Chest of Drawers, the Rag Chair and the Milk Bottle Lamp, projects that have become landmarks in contemporary Dutch design.

His work is held in numerous private and corporate collections and in the permanent collections of museums worldwide, including the Centraal Museum Utrecht, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), MoMA (New York), SFMOMA (San Francisco), MAD Paris, Die Pinakotheken (Munich), LACMA (Los Angeles), High Museum of Art (Atlanta), Design Museum Lisbon, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, Design Museum Holon (Tel Aviv), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark), Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Brooklyn Museum (New York), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, the DELA Art Collection, August Kestner Museum (Hannover),CID au Grand-Hornu, and the TextielMuseum (Tilburg).

Since 2000, Tejo Remy has collaborated with René Veenhuizen as Atelier Remy & Veenhuizen. Together they develop installations, furniture and architectural interventions for public spaces, museums, educational institutions and cultural organizations. Their work combines material research with social engagement, creating places that invite encounter, participation and shared use.

International commissions include a sculptural fence for a water treatment facility in Arlington, USA, and the permanent library and café for CAB in Burgos, Spain. The work of Atelier Remy & Veenhuizen has been presented in numerous international exhibitions and is included in collections such as the Vitra Design Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass (New York), Centraal Museum Utrecht and CID au Grand-Hornu / POC (Brussels),the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne),Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.

Photo credits: © Tjistke Sluis