Tobias Wong was one of the most talented conceptual artist/designers in recent years. His death will leave a huge void in the art + design community, as Julie Lasky articulated so well in her article for Design Observer. I first learned about him during my first year in New York, 2004. I wanted so badly to see his installation that year at Terminal 5 in JFK, but unfortunately it was closed early as a result of vandalism during the opening party. I later became more familiar with his work when the MoMA featured his work in the 2005 exhibition “SAFE: Design Takes on Risk”, specifically his Bullet Proof Rose. His pieces ranged from playful to subversive, and were always an intelligent comment on today's consumer culture.
