Mr Foster created the signature Fink water jug, which has become a design icon, and designed the striking "Ossolites" sculptures in the foyer of the ActewAGL building in Civic.

Tributes have flowed for the talented and internationally-renowned artist who has been remembered as a "luminary in his field of contemporary design and silver-smithing" and a "once-in-a-generation maker".

He was a celebrated member of Canberra's tight-knit arts community and his iconic homewares are sold in high-end stores and gallery shops all over the country and internationally.

It is understood Mr Foster died in a head-on crash on the Kings Highway in Kowen, east of Queanbeyan, on Wednesday morning.

Police are still investigating the crash and have appealed for any witnesses to come forward. They said a 53-year-old Canberra man died at the scene and another was taken to hospital.

Mr Foster founded his design company Fink & Co, based in Queanbeyan, more than 20 years ago. He was a graduate of the ANU school of art and in 2015 was named the university's Alumnus of the Year for Innovation and Entrepeneurship.

Mr Foster was a "prolific and highly accomplished" maker whose works had featured in collections both nationally and internationally, including New York's Museum of Modern Art, London's Victoria and Albert Museum and major Australian institutions including the NGA, Cultural Canberra director Adam Stankevicius said.

He extended his deepest sympathies to Mr Foster's family and said his loss would be acutely felt by many in the craft and visual arts communities.

"He was a luminary in the field of contemporary design and silver-smithing, known for his highly innovative and dramatic works that push technical boundaries," Mr Stankevicius said.

"His vision and practice were truly unique. He leaves behind a legacy of significant and well-loved large scale architectural works such as the Ossolites in the foyer of the ActewAGL building and in the Realm Hotel."

Craft ACT chief executive Rachael Coghlan said many were devastated "such a great man and talent has been taken from us too early".

"Robbie is an iconic designer and silversmith, and was a mentor, collaborator, leader, supporter, inspiration, and teacher; but he has also been a true friend to so many people in both our professional and personal communities here in Canberra," she said.

Mr Foster would leave an enduring legacy and his contribution was "great, both near and far", she said.

ANU School of Art head, Associate Professor Denise Ferris, said Mr Foster's "diverse understanding of process, his knowledge of materials and his constant need to challenge visual language have made him on of the most notable contemporary designer makers".

"Everyone who knows design recognises a Fink jug," she said, adding the icon had remained a landmark achievement in Australian design.

Mr Foster was remembered as a noted and highly-esteemed Australian designer with an international reputation by the Canberra Times' craft reviewer Kerry-Anne Cousins.

"Robert Foster's untimely death at the zenith of his career is a tragedy that will deeply affect his family, friends and colleagues as well as the Canberra arts community," she said.

His celebrated jug, made of anodised aluminium and with a sloping spout, was initially a commission for a Canberra restaurant in 1993, with the hugely-popular jug later produced in large numbers in his Queanbeyan workshop.

Mr Foster had a wife and two daughters.

ANU vice-chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said Mr Foster was an "outstanding" artist and designer who would be sadly missed.