Doda design

bio

R A E ' U T   S T E R N  is an Israeli-American designer, artist and researcher, currently residing in New York City. Stern holds a master’s degree from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, as well as an undergraduate dual degree in Psychology and Communications from the Tel Aviv University. She has also received training at the Penland School of Crafts, NC and attended a residency at Anderson Ranch, CO. 

Over a decade of experience working in the high-tech industry has influenced Stern’s art and her interest in the social and cultural effects of technology. As adjunct professor at the Bezalel Academy, Stern lead research teams and taught undergraduate students. Her work on design-research initiatives received support from UNESCO with a  research fellowship at the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress in Washington DC. As a multi-media artist Stern works in ceramics, photography, paper and textile.

A Y A   M A R G U L I S is an Israeli ceramic designer, artist and production manager, based in Jerusalem.  Margulis holds both a master’s and bachelor's degree from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, and has received undergraduate training as an exchange student at the Designskolen at Kolden, Denmark. She has also studied porcelain lighting design at the Gila Ben David Studio in Rosh HaAyin, Israel.

Margulis served as a technical assistant for the production line at the Anna Carmi Judaica Ceramics Studio in Jerusalem. In 2009 she became the manager of a forty-member team of artisans in the Ceramics Department of a non-profit organization supplying creative work opportunities to underprivileged residents of Jerusalem.

D O D A   D E S I G N  is the creative partnership of Aya Margulis and Rae’ut Stern. The duo established the project-based collaboration in 2009 following their graduation from the Master’s degree program at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem. Work by Doda Design has been included in the Ceramics Biennial at the Eretz Israel Museum and in Sant Pau Barcelona, Harvard University, Kansas City Art Institute and commercial galleries in the USA. Doda Design has received support from Asylum Arts and the Schusterman foundation in the form of travel, retreat and research grants. Doda design art is present in the Eretz Israel Museum collection as well as private collections. In 2013 the duo were recognized by Leslie Ferrin, Curator and Director of Ferrin Contemporary, as two of the top 20 artists under the age of 40 whose primary medium is clay.

W H Y   D O D A   D E S I G N  ?   The word doda is a multi-faceted term in Hebrew, meaning anything from a “mature woman” undefined by relational status to an “auntie” of the most prosaic sort. The word also functions as a disparaging term for female crafters.  
Doda Design embraces the feminine role in ceramic traditions while remaining committed to the pursuit of contemporary thought and innovation.  

artists’ statement

“We work at the intersection of ceramic art, material culture, and experience design. As a project-based collaboration we focus our efforts on creating art installations and conceptual pieces. The history of object design serves as the canvas on which we trace and examine personal and global experiences of our era. 

Our creative process is often sparked by the byproducts of mass media, igniting an extensive research process involving ethnographic, historical and visual exploration. Following a phase of concept distillation we combine traditional crafts with the development of new technologies and production techniques to create objects that offer a new perspective on life in the Digital Age.

In creating cultural commentary, we strive to engage our viewers by craftsmanship of content as well as craftsmanship of form.”

exhibitions