maarten baas extrudes 'naive sketches' into close parity furniture collection

for its first solo show at the new london space, carpenters workshop gallery presents ‘run & hide’ by dutch designer marteen baas. the exhibition provides a taste of what’s to come in the first major retrospective of the designer’s work called ‘hide and seek’ at the groninger museum in the netherlands. the show covers four major collections of the designer’s career.

‘close parity’ collection

first presented during dutch design week 2016, ‘close parity’ is maarten baas’ latest collection and it exhibits five furniture pieces derived from ‘naive sketches’ extruded to the three-dimensional world. each cabinet is a direct extrusion of the childlike sketch, where gravity and logistics are irrelevant. the resultant brass pieces maintain every oddity and intricacy of the sketches which seem to become almost impossible, off-balanced and top heavy sculptures. inside, very heavy counterweights hidden from eye’s view provides the structural stability they need to function. the imperfections of the linework are interpreted with immaculate craftsmanship in pure brass, combining a child-like form and logic with rather complex and detailed understanding of material and physics.

in the collection, gravity and logistics are irrelevant

the exhibition will bring maarten baas’ ‘carpace’ collection to the UK for the first time. the series references the protective, decorative or camouflaging shell found on the back of animals such as beetles and turtles. shown for the first time at carpenters workshop gallery new york in 2016, the exhibition will include a desk, cabinet, armchair and cupboard. secondly, the gallery presents two of the designer’s celebrated clay chairs. usually available as an open edition, for the design’s 10th anniversary, a special bronze version has been created.

‘carpace’ collection referencing the shells found on the back of animals such as beetles and turtles

the gallery will also show an example of the designer’s famous ‘real time’ collection. the ‘grandfather clock’ in bronze is one of maarten baas’ early clocks which incorporates a 12-hour video of a man drawing and erasing the minute and hour clock face onto a screen. this series has become iconic and examples can be seen in museums and major collections around the world. schiphol airport — amsterdam’s central airport — recently commissioned the designer to create a large-scale version for its main hall.

bronze version of the ‘clay chair’

finally, one major piece of the ‘smoke’ series will be on view. entirely carbonized with a blow-torch, the designer marks the beauty of human intervention and turns defaults into aesthetic qualities. these pieces — part of the designer’s graduating show at design academy eindhoven in 2002 — have entered prestigious collections such as the victoria & albert museum and the groninger museum.