As we begin to look back on 2022, we pause to remember some of the most inspirational leading creatives we have sadly lost during the year and, through the tributes below, to celebrate their work and enduring influence.
IN MEMORIAM
Ricardo Bofill, architect (1939 – 2022)
Archival portrait of Ricardo Bofill in his office
Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill passed away this year at the age of 82. Perhaps the country’s most acclaimed and best-known contemporary architect, Bofill’s long career saw him carve a distinctive personal path through the built environment, incorporating rich colours and abstract forms.
Carmen Herrera, artist (1915 – 2022)
Carmen Herrera in her Studio, 2015
Cuba-born American artist Carmen Herrera passed away peacefully in her sleep in February, aged 106. Her life's work saw her pioneer 20th-century abstract painting, becoming an active member of the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles and exhibiting alongside Max Bill and Piet Mondrian, among other key figures.
Dan Graham, artist and writer (1942 – 2022)
Dan Graham Groovy Spiral, 2013, two-way mirror, stainless steel
Pioneering American visual artist, writer and curator Dan Graham died in New York City aged 79. Through cognitive and visual experiences, his art occupied an in-between, fluid and hybrid space, cloaking complex theories in a veil of simplicity. Considered one of the pioneers of conceptual art (though a term he recently disavowed) he broke rules, re-wrote conventions and imagined an art beyond the white-walled, cubic confines of the gallery.
Russell Bell, illustrator (1958 – 2022)
A 2005 Wallpaper* cover, designed by Russell Bell
Few illustrators can claim to have had as much impact on the aesthetic of Wallpaper* as Russell Bell, who died at the end of March 2022, after a short battle with cancer. Bell’s purist, clean-lined approach lent authority to every subject he tackled, from architecture to future technology.
André Dubreuil, designer (1951 – 2022)
André Dubreuil's ‘Ram’ chair, 1986
Dubbed poète du fer (poet of iron) by biographer Jean-Louis Gaillemin, André Dubreuil created highly inventive furniture pieces, both fantastical and classical – bold adventures in metallurgy and glass, referencing Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, the silhouettes of André-Charles Boulle and more.
Marcus Fairs, journalist (1967 – 2022)
Marcus Fairs, photographed by Wallpaper* China editor Yoko Choy in 2005
Marcus Fairs passing at the age of 54 was a shock to the design community this year. As editor of Icon, and then CEO and editor-in-chief of Dezeen, Fairs nurtured a reputation for fearsome energy, an incredible eye for editorial talent, and an unwavering belief in the cultural importance of design and architecture.
Issey Miyake, fashion pioneer (1938 – 2022)
Portrait of Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake, designer and founder of the Miyake Design Studio and the Issey Miyake Group, passed away aged 84. Miyake’s work was defined by a dynamic approach to design, which combined boundary-pushing technical innovation with a deft use of colour and silhouette. Miyake was fascinated at once by the richness and pragmatism of Japanese craft, Western youth culture, and the flair of European couture.
William Klein, fashion and street photographer and cinematographer (1928 – 2022)
William Klein photographed at his Paris home for Wallpaper’s June 2017 issue
William Klein, the American-French artist responsible for transforming the worlds of fashion photography, street photography and cinema verité, died in Paris aged 96 this year. ‘I came from the outside,’ Klein once said.
Pierre Soulages, artist (1919 – 2022)
Portrait of Pierre Soulages
Known for a sensational ability to subtly depict the unseen, Pierre Soulages has gained worldwide recognition as a key figure in both abstract expressionism and art informel. By turning black into an incandescent colour, the artist put the spotlight on the origins of humanity in its darkness and light.
Fernando Campana, architect and designer (1961 – 2022)
Fernando Campana passed away in November, aged 61. He was one half of Estudio Campana, which he founded with his brother Humberto in 1984 in Brotas, outside São Paulo. Together, the brothers combined their disruptive design practice with an innovative look at Brazilian culture and craft traditions, and an approach that merged furniture-making with social outreach.
George Lois, graphic designer (1931 – 2022)
George Lois, trying out the Apple Watch Hermès, surrounded by his design collection in his New York apartment, photographed for Wallpaper’s February 2016 issue
George Lois passed away aged 91, two months after the death of his wife, Rosemary, an artist whom he met on the first day they attended Pratt Institute in September 1949, and to whom he was dearly devoted. They were together for 71 years. Throughout his 60-year career, he was behind numerous advertising and creative agencies, wrote books about art direction and advertising, and even collaborated with start-up brands in his later years.
Ashley Bickerton, artist (1959 – 2022)
Ashley Bickerton in his studio in Bali in 2017, surrounded by sculptures and paintings
Bali-based Bickerton’s work grew to prominence in the 1980s, and he is widely named as a contributor to the Neo-Geo movement, which commented on social isolation and critiqued consumerism, commercialisation, and society in the late-1900s.
Pierluigi Cerri, architect, designer, curator, editor and academic (1939 – 2022)
An archival portrait of Pierluigi Cerri
Pierluigi Cerri passed away on Tuesday 29 November at age 83. The Italian architect, designer, curator, editor, academic and three-time Compasso d’Oro laureate was a polymath and a visionary: his work spanned from design to fashion, from exhibition curation to architecture, leaving an everlasting mark on the contemporary creative industries.
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What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
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Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
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Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
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Remembering Yrjö Kukkapuro, Finnish grand master of design (1933-2025)Almost everyone in Finland has sat in a chair by designer Yrjö Kukkapuro, writes Wallpaper’s Emma O'Kelly, who met him at his studio in 2020 and here pays tribute to a design legend
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We remember Kenneth Grange, the British industrial designer, who has died aged 95Kenneth Grange was a colossus of post-war design. With a career spanning six decades, his mission for improvement touched everything from trains to fountain pens, taxis to toothbrushes
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Design world mourns Gaetano Pesce (1939-2024), the ‘most radical of radicals’We remember Gaetano Pesce, the rule-breaking Italian design visionary, who has died in New York aged 84
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In memoriam: celebrating the lives and work of those we lost in 2023We honour and remember some of the influential creatives lost during 2023, through the Wallpaper* tributes that ran throughout the year
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In Memoriam: Maria Pergay (1930 – 2023)We remember design dame Maria Pergay, who died on 31 October 2023 aged 93
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In Memoriam: Andrea Branzi (1938 – 2023)We remember Italian design radical Andrea Branzi, who died on 9 October 2023
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In Memoriam: Rodolfo Dordoni (1954 - 2023)We remember Italian designer and architect Rodolfo Dordoni, who died on 1 August 2023
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In memoriam: Thomas Eyck (1964 – 2023)We remember Dutch design entrepreneur Thomas Eyck, a champion of craft, materiality and beauty who helped elevate many of the Netherlands’ contemporary design stars
