Artist, creative director and designer Heron Preston debuted an art piece inspired by and designed with MycoWorks’ innovative mycelium material, “Reishi: A Fruit Bowl by Heron Preston” for MycoWorks, which will be available exclusively on a new digital platform by Heron Preston that will launch in early 2023. The inimitable, one edition only piece represents the first of many product launches between Heron Preston and MycoWorks.
Biotechnology company MycoWorks was originally founded by artists who pioneered the use of mycelium and other living materials to grow and create art. MycoWorks has since developed, commercialized and scaled its flagship material, Reishi – a unique, flexible, durable material that emulates the handfeel of animal leather but is made entirely from mycelium, the infinitely renewable root structure of mushrooms.
Born out of a joint appreciation for the sensory attributes and limitless design possibilities of mycelium and Reishi, “A Fruit Bowl by Heron Preston for MycoWorks” will be exclusively available as part of Heron’s soon-to-launch digital platform focused on L.E.D. (Less Environmentally Destructive) concepts and how they can take shape in culturally relevant and relatable ways.
Heron Preston said, “A fruit bowl is usually one of the first objects that painters depict to demonstrate their skills and understanding of the medium. And this is an exercise on how this material (Fine Mycelium), through my lens is getting its start – as a fruit bowl. A material with endless possibilities and applications, like a painting. The fruit made of Fine Mycelium messages new beginnings and a future not bound by our past but pushed forward through our imagination and human ingenuity; a breakthrough in materials science and biotechnology.”
Sophia Wang, MycoWorks Co-Founder & Chief of Culture said, “Given MycoWorks’ roots in art, this partnership with Heron Preston represents our company’s enduring values of thoughtful design and aesthetics, wide-ranging inspiration, and visionary imagination. Over the last decade, MycoWorks has grown to over 160 employees and produces tens of thousands of sheets of material per year, but these values have and will always hold true.”
Heron Preston will continue to craft and launch a range of designs made with Reishi in 2023.