Draft:Rhea Thierstein

Rhea Thierstein

Rhea Thierstein is a British multidisciplinary artist, creative director and set designer. Her work encompasses sculpture, installation, set design and creative direction across art, fashion, editorial and commercial projects. She has created work for cultural institutions and clients including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, Hermès, Selfridges, Swarovski and Mulberry, and her set designs have appeared in British, American and Italian Vogue, Love, W and other international fashion publications.

Her work is characterised by handcrafted processes, unusual materials, narrative and changes in scale. Alongside her commissioned work, Thierstein has developed an independent artistic practice particularly concerned with the natural world and our relationship with it.

Early life and education

Thierstein was born in Germany and grew up in southern England. She studied Commercial Photography at Arts University Bournemouth, graduating with a BA (Hons) in 2005.

During her degree, Thierstein interned one day a week for nine months at SHOWstudio, working as an editorial assistant to Penny Martin. After moving to London, she assisted set designer and artist Shona Heath for more than four years, while also assisting in the photography department at creative agency Big Active.

During this time, Thierstein met fashion photographer Tim Walker, with whom she subsequently collaborated on numerous editorial and commercial projects. She also designed Walker’s 2008 book Pictures.

Career

Thierstein established herself as a set designer working across fashion, advertising and editorial photography, alongside creating installations. In 2011, The Independent profiled her as part of a generation of emerging British creative practitioners, highlighting projects for Selfridges and Claridge’s. In 2013, she was featured by The Business of Fashion in 10 of London’s Top Young Fashion Creatives.

Her collaborations with Tim Walker have appeared in major international fashion publications including British, American and Italian Vogue, Love and W. Props created by Thierstein were also exhibited in Walker’s Story Teller exhibition at Somerset House, alongside work by other set designers and collaborators.

For Hermès, she has created installations including miniature harbour environments inspired by the history of the house’s Chaîne d’Ancre jewellery, incorporating pieces of jewellery into sculptural scenes based on the Normandy coast.

For the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition Food: Bigger than the Plate, Thierstein was invited to pitch for the exhibition campaign and selected to create it. She developed the concept and art direction, working with photographer Aaron Tilley. She also created a sculptural installation for the Natural History Museum’s Venom exhibition.

In 2019, Thierstein worked alongside fashion designer Iris van Herpen on the design and realisation of Biomorphism, a series of installations created for Swarovski Kristallwelten in Vienna. She helped oversee the artists and specialist makers involved in the project, which included a four-metre hyperreal sculptural face.

Artistic practice

Thierstein’s independent artistic practice encompasses sculpture, installation and photography. Natural forms, insects and environmental themes recur throughout her work.

Her sculpture Bittersweet, a queen bee made using materials including tar, Jesmonite, gold leaf and resin, explored the relationship between human consumption, climate change and the natural environment. It was exhibited in the all-female There’s a Good Girl exhibition at Saatchi & Saatchi in London in 2014-15.

In 2026, Thierstein exhibited with the Entographic Collective, an art collective focused on entomology, in ENTOGRAPHICA at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI). Her wasp sculptures were exhibited in Vespid, an exhibition devoted to wasps at the Kaleidoscope Gallery in Sevenoaks.

Education

Thierstein has worked in arts education alongside her professional practice. She was a Creative Practitioner in Residence at London College of Fashion, UAL, working with students across Costume for Performance, 3D Effects for Performance and Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Performance.

She continues to teach at University of the Arts London as an Associate Lecturer, alongside working as a visiting creative practitioner and mentor with students at other universities.

Selected exhibitions and projects

• Tim Walker: Story Teller, Somerset House, London (2012–13) — props exhibited

• There’s a Good Girl, Saatchi & Saatchi, London (2014–15)

• Venom, Natural History Museum, London (2017–18) — sculptural installation

• Food: Bigger than the Plate, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2019) — campaign concept and art direction

• Biomorphism, Swarovski Kristallwelten, Vienna (2019) — design and realisation

• ENTOGRAPHICA, Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath (2026)

• Vespid, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks (2026)

External links

Rhea Thierstein — official website

References

Selected exhibitions and projects

• Tim Walker: Story Teller, Somerset House, London (2012–13) — props exhibited

• There’s a Good Girl, Saatchi & Saatchi, London (2014–15)

• Venom, Natural History Museum, London (2017–18) — sculptural installation

• Food: Bigger than the Plate, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2019) — campaign concept and art direction

• Biomorphism, Swarovski Kristallwelten, Vienna (2019) — design and realisation

• ENTOGRAPHICA, Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath (2026)

• Vespid, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks (2026)

External links

https://rheathierstein.com

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/rhea-thierstein

https://fredbutlerstyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/sat-april-16th-rhea-thierstein.html?m=1

https://fredbutlerstyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/sat-april-16th-rhea-thierstein.html?m=1

https://entographica.co.uk/artist/rhea-thierstein/