Maarten Baas, sensing the image, immediately gets to work: twisting, bending, breaking, and burning. He does not accept orders from large furniture manufacturers, is deaf to the advice of experts, and does not recognize sketches. And he insists that his activities are positive.
Maarten Baas was born on February 19, 1978 in Arnsberg (Germany). Graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2002. And then he created the legendary Smoke series. Instantly, this collection of black, broken, and burnt furniture became world famous.
The following series were also successful: Clay (2006) and Real Time (2009). In 2009, Maarten Baas received the title of “Designer of the Year” at the Design/Miami exhibition. His works are in major museum collections: V&A, MoMa, Rijksmuseum and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. It’s no wonder that all the major collectors of modern design adore Baas’s unique pieces: Brad Pitt, Kanye West, Ian Schrager and Adam Lindemann have his pieces. The designer successfully collaborates with Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Dior, Dom Ruinart, Berluti.
“I’m hardly a pyromaniac, but I like to watch fire destroy things. And then it turns into something completely new, no less beautiful than before. What I do, by happy coincidence, seems to be design. My method is like cooking and things are like food. You won’t eat something smooth, straight and perfect in shape. It is unpleasant. And I like organic forms, but with a crack, with a wormhole.
A good cook doesn’t need a recipe. He acts on a whim, guided by experience, takes the ingredients that are at hand. I don’t make sketches, I just come up with what I want to get and get to work. Or I explain the idea to my producer Bas den Herder, and he looks for me a factory with the necessary technical base. In the Clay collection, I sculpted everything myself from clay, so no two items are alike. Treasure are items made from waste from furniture production.
“Treasures” were produced as long as the factory left a certain form of waste. I collect junk from flea markets and make pyramids out of it. Objects change their purpose: a violin becomes a hanger, a chair becomes a shelf. Chaos and disorder are what I cannot work without. In general, I am a very punctual and obligatory person – if I polish up my workplace, literally an hour later chaos reigns there again, because this is the most productive environment for me.
My ideal is a garage-workshop with tools, blanks, parts, where something is constantly being adjusted, sharpened, knocked together. That’s why I liked working in Shanghai, everything is intertwined there: artisanal workshops, mass production, ancient crafts and high-tech. You won’t find such a colorful mixture in Holland anymore.”
The most important thing about our X that it is for
those who are in a hurry
