The Desk of
ANSELM REYLE

© Image Ronald Dick

Found objects, discarded items and a critique of the decadent bourgeoisie are as much a part of ANSELM REYLE’s work as handmade ceramics and vases. Directly on the Spree, in the East of Berlin, Reyle and his wife Tanja Lincke discovered the former shipyard of the GDR water police and converted it into their shared studio. His desk is another find he came across while researching for an art series:

© Image Ronald Dick

I’ve had my desk for over ten years. An assistant had discovered the desk on the internet at the time. At the time, I was processing strange sofas found on eBay and other platforms, and he was supposed to research terms like ‘strange design’ or ‘ugly design.’ I upholstered the sofas we came across with different fabrics and in some cases changed the shape a bit. Then I presented them in an exhibition – each with a picture that fit well, so to speak, with the sofa. I spend about three to four hours a day at my desk. It’s quite comfortable to sit on my modified Eames replica. The cell phone on the desk is my main work tool. I use the dictation function to answer most of my messages – it’s much faster than typing. Otherwise, there are various found objects and materials that I am currently working with. When these things surround me for a longer time, I get a good sense of how something feels and whether I want to continue with it. I have a certain emotional attachment to all of these things and if it doesn’t last, it doesn’t become art. But there is also, for example, a stone my son Otto painted. That, of course, has a special value for me.”