R/A/P is a studio for experimental design that creates clothing, accessories and interior objects. R/A/P is short for „Radical Adults Productions“, which was inspired by an exhibition called „Radical Adults“ in 2011 in Berlin. R/A/P’s approach to designing is conceptual and procedural. The application of patterns and grids through coloration and discoloration stand central, all products are created by hand. R/A/P stands for the intersectionality of art and design and its complementarity. R/A/P is run by the visual artist Johannes Buss.
As a visual artist and a designer Buss decontextualizes existing forms that are not meant to be design in the first place. Patterns, grids and surfaces that stem from technical supplies, architecture and governmental & public constitution are closely examined, selected and then digitally reconstructed. The newly generated forms are then reproduced by laser-cut to be used as stencils, grids and stamps. The manual implementation onto materials like fabric, paper, wood or clay is the main step in the design process. It allows further adjustments before being applied onto the final surface with paint, bleach or by the use of pressure. The manual work-method also adds an extra level of „design“ as it always allows for „mistakes“. „Misprints" can become a new way of working depending on their outcome. This is decisively part of the experimental approach to designing.
Johannes Buss studied visual arts at the Academy for Art & Design AKI in Enschede (NL) and at the Emily Carr University of Art & Design ECUAD in Vancouver (CA) from 1994 to 1999 and resides in Berlin since 1999. His work has been shown in exhibitions and also has been featured as spatial design for music festivals and clubs or as stage design for theatre.
Buss has exhibited at Luzerner Theater (1999) Barbican Art Centre London (2001), Johannesburg Art Gallery (2004), Goethe Institut Johannesburg (2004), Exit Art New York (2005), Badischer Kunstverein Karlsruhe (2008), Kammerspiele München (2009), Städtische Kunsthalle Lothringer 13 München (2010), German Embassy London (2011) , Schau Fenster Berlin (2015), Uckermark Festival (2016), Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz Berlin (2018), Willem Twee Den Bosch (2018), Pavillon am Milchhof Berlin (2020) (selection)
Buss has worked for Mousonturm Frankfurt (2001), Bag Factory Johannesburg (2004), Haus der Kunst München (2007-2013), Jeu de Paume Paris (2008), Medienschule Babelsberg Potsdam (2012-2013), Berlin Festival (2013), Anta Helena Recke (2015), Ballhaus Ost Berlin (2016), Aua Wir Leben Festival Bern (2016), Kammerspiele München (2016), Lollapalooza Festival Berlin (2017) (selection)
