"Making Things Personal - Maarten Baas"
February 19 - May 24, 2010
SM's - Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch
Magistratenlaan 100
5223 MB 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
In 2002 designer Maarten Baas became an instant sensation in the design world with his collection Smoke. Through the charred and blackened furniture, he makes a statement about an impersonal design tradition. His designs originate in an unorthodox approach and an individual signature. The SM’s – Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch will show for the first time a complete survey of his designs.
Maarten Baas’ independent and idiosyncratic way of working has earned him the nickname of ‘the bad boy of design’. Design for Baas is about exploring new forms through the use of unorthodox methods and materials. In his own words: “Furniture designs in general are introvert, rational and impersonal through the symmetry and fixed finishing touch. When you compare this kind of design with people I wouldn’t feel myself at home, they are so pretentious. I want to make something that doesn’t have that distant character, but something more personal, like when children are drawing or claying.”
In the series Clay from 2006, synthetic clay is moulded by hand around a frame to create furniture with a unique look. Sculpt (2007) arises from a similar immediate approach: the furniture is based on quick sketches which are translated into monumental furniture. In his most recent series ‘Real Time’ (2009) he invents the clock: by making video’s of people moving the hands of a clock around with a broom as if it were garbage, or by redrawing the hands on a dial over and over again. The passage of time becomes visible when the video is projected ‘real time’.
Maarten Baas prefers handicraft above mass production, identity over image. He makes design a personal matter.
-SM's - Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch
MAARTEN BAAS
SM's - Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch
Magistratenlaan 100
5223 MB 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
In 2002 designer Maarten Baas became an instant sensation in the design world with his collection Smoke. Through the charred and blackened furniture, he makes a statement about an impersonal design tradition. His designs originate in an unorthodox approach and an individual signature. The SM’s – Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch will show for the first time a complete survey of his designs.
Maarten Baas’ independent and idiosyncratic way of working has earned him the nickname of ‘the bad boy of design’. Design for Baas is about exploring new forms through the use of unorthodox methods and materials. In his own words: “Furniture designs in general are introvert, rational and impersonal through the symmetry and fixed finishing touch. When you compare this kind of design with people I wouldn’t feel myself at home, they are so pretentious. I want to make something that doesn’t have that distant character, but something more personal, like when children are drawing or claying.”
In the series Clay from 2006, synthetic clay is moulded by hand around a frame to create furniture with a unique look. Sculpt (2007) arises from a similar immediate approach: the furniture is based on quick sketches which are translated into monumental furniture. In his most recent series ‘Real Time’ (2009) he invents the clock: by making video’s of people moving the hands of a clock around with a broom as if it were garbage, or by redrawing the hands on a dial over and over again. The passage of time becomes visible when the video is projected ‘real time’.
Maarten Baas prefers handicraft above mass production, identity over image. He makes design a personal matter.
-SM's - Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch
MAARTEN BAAS
