Kate MacGarry is delighted to present a solo exhibition by Rio Kobayashi. Continuing his exploration of repair and reinvention, the exhibition features a new body of furniture and sculptural works crafted from reclaimed materials salvaged from across London.

A crooked pencil symbolises an unconventional creative and irregular process, one that embraces irregularity and finds beauty in imperfection. The title’s double meaning, alluding to manipulation and deceit, echoes Kobayashi’s first solo exhibition at Cromwell Place (2023), One hand washes the other – an ambiguous phrase suggesting both collaboration and corruption.

Works in the show have been made from a walnut wardrobe, a mahogany folding screen and reclaimed doors, shelving and fireplaces from a Victorian townhouse. Kobayashi combines wood, metal and glass in functional yet playful compositions, with varied references to science fiction, motorsport and Buddhist iconography. “I use colour to create more of an emotional connection to an object, to give it character and personality. I think colour makes an object feel more personal, almost like a companion.”

Throughout the exhibition, Kobayashi’s characteristic sense of humour and craftsmanship come together in works that embrace a deep attentiveness to materials. By giving discarded materials new form, he opens a dialogue between past and present, between the histories embedded in objects and what they have become.