Los Angeles, ryanpreciado.com
Every once in awhile we re-honor someone on the Hot List if we feel their work has taken a new direction and deserves a fresh look, and L.A.’s Ryan Preciado easily fit that bill for us this year. First nominated in 2020 with a handful of more conventional furnishings, Preciado has since released a flood of more intentional works that — shown primarily in an art gallery context — are unique in their ability to span both worlds without relying on craftiness and complexity. They’re essentially functional Postmodernism-inspired sculpture, and we would live with every single piece.

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?

The term “American” is loaded because in the US it’s understood to refer to a certain culture and system that is born within the borders of the United States. The Americas are much larger, and to be “an American” means a lot more than most people associate with it (by design, pun not intended). It’s important to take this into consideration when talking about design in the United States, as it is to question the idea of any monolithic identity. Design as I see it is as bound up in local and cultural (including diasporic) specificity as it is in class politics: Whose name gets to be on something? Who actually made it with their hands and/or in a factory? What were the labor conditions? These are the more important questions to me.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year? 

I’m working on a show that will be in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock house, here in Los Angeles. It will open late February 2025.

What inspires or informs your work in general?

The last couple of weeks, what’s been inspiring my work has been the Hollyhock house. I was mentioning I’m working on a show and the house has been proving to be in charge. Although it is a lot more generous than I originally thought it would be, it has no problem letting me know something isn’t working in the interior. I think FLW would be smiling in his grave knowing he’s still in control haha. It’s really exciting to be in conversation with the Hollyhock, and I look forward to it.