Carles Riart

Born in Barcelona in 1944, Carles Riart is a key figure in Spanish design, though he prefers to describe himself as a mueblista—a furniture maker. He studied at the EINA design school and trained in the woodworking workshop of Raimundo Giné. From an early age, he showed a deep interest in objects and spaces, and at just nineteen founded Gris, a pioneering studio-store where he distributed the pieces he liked and designed interiors for bars, galleries, among others.

By the late 1970s, he began to explore the field of industrial design more deeply, gradually gaining prominence and developing a distinct language rooted in the sensitive reinterpretation of traditional typologies. Pieces like the Desnuda chair (1973), the Vallvidrera armchair (1978), and the Mecedora rocking chair (1979) combine artisanal know-how with emotional, postmodern expression. His early venture into lighting with  La Colilla lamp (1976) also marked the editorial beginnings of Santa & Cole.

Unbothered by trends or fashion, Riart has always worked from a place of craft, exploring manual techniques and emphasizing durability, everyday use, and the relationship between object and space. Beyond design, he’s left his mark on symbolic projects like the iconic archer lighting the Olympic cauldron at the 1992 Barcelona Games, as well as through teaching at EINA.

His accolades include the Spanish National Design Award (2011), two ADI-FAD Golden Deltas, and the inclusion of his Ona coat rack in the permanent collection of MoMA in New York. His career, captured in a monographic volume published by Santa & Cole, traces one of the most personal and delicate voices in contemporary design.