Curated Section Gallery

BRAM VANDERBEKE

Bram Vanderbeke is a Ghent-based, Belgian artist/designer. He graduated from the Design Academy, Eindhoven in 2016, complementing a prior training in Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent. His practice is diverse but consistent and stands out for its material, sculptural and monumental qualities.

Bram explores and transforms the possible interactions between an object, its architectural environment and its user, further challenged by raw materiality, form and functionality. His works are in the same time autonomous artistic manifestations and utile solutions, an ambiguity Bram deliberately aims for. He creates his Architectural Objects and rhythmic installations in varying dimensions, both in private and in public contexts. The works often influence the spatial perception of the environment they become part of, sometimes by extending an existing space through creating a new space within it.

Bram Vanderbeke is one of the founding members of BRUT, a collective of emerging Belgian designers. He also collaborates with Dutch Invertuals (NL), Gallery Hioco/Delany (BE), Galerie VIVID (NL) and Nilufar Gallery (IT).

Architectural Objects

Bram Vanderbeke creates Architectural Objects: monumental designs with a distinctive materiality and aesthetic. In doing so, Bram suggests considering the status of these works as intermediate. Not so much to declare them unfinished, but rather as an accentuation of their intrinsic potential – their capacity to vary and alter, according to the circumstances they may once become part of. The works introduce an interaction between space and object and between architecture and function.

Stacking is a vital word in relation to these Architectural Objects. Since it is this stacking – the deliberate and, above all, physical act of placing something on top of another – which is the foundation of many of them. When looked at from a distance, the Architectural Objects generously emphasise their context, revive its identity and introduce a new rhythm. Once in closer view, the objects also reveal their other qualities. On the one hand, this is the moment when the objects unveil their function and when an observer becomes a user. On the other hand, it is the point where materiality takes over, led by the textures and shades of the surfaces, the rawness and solidity of form and substance. They echo a process which is both experimental and intentional, bodily and mental.

EOB – EXTRA ORDINARY STUDIO

EOB is a contemporary furniture and object design studio operating between Rotterdam (NL) and Seoul (KR). Founded by Ki and Heon, the studio emerged from a shared vision born out of years of friendship and dialogue, culminating in a collaborative space that embodies their creative synergy.

EOB explores the intersection of experimentation and functionality, seamlessly blending these dualities into cohesive, parallel visual narratives. Through their work, the studio redefines simplicity, crafting objects that resonate with precision, curiosity, and a refined sense of purpose within niche design contexts. EOB’s approach transforms ordinary materials and ideas into extraordinary explorations of form, balance, and storytelling.

BENJAMIN MOTOC

Benjamin Motoc is a French artist-designer, who studied applied arts in Paris and Reims, before graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands). Dividing time between Paris, Rotterdam and Doha, he explores the potential of materials by creating innovative fabrication techniques, forging a strong bond between aesthetics and production.

The creative studio bridges the gap between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design ethos.

The work celebrates the art of designing while making, as Motoc engages in hands-on ‘fundamental research’; and through these manual explorations, he has developed alternative production methods, resulting in a diverse body of work that includes bronze, aluminum, and resin.

Art furniture, objects and sculptures, ranging from unique pieces to limited editions.

DIRK VAN DER KOOIJ

The core tenets of longevity, functionality, and joy guide the Kooij collection. Of each object we ask: is this a permanent, worthy application of the resources used?

In 2009, Dirk van der Kooij founded this studio in the basement of the Design Academy, Eindhoven. His guiding question was seemingly simple: could plastic be an honest, durable material? Six pizza ovens welded together proved that, yes, it could. The resulting Elephant Skin series saw recycled plastic wrinkle and contract as it cooled outside of a mould, conjuring a rich, living tactility. The ultimate imitator had finally found an identity of its own.

Elephant Skin set a precedent for the work that would follow: across the collection, we have found new life in unlikely places. Discarded CDs, leather sofas, kitchen appliances, chocolate moulds, and diseased wood all present rich textural and structural fodder.

A romance with unconventional materials necessitates that form follow process. Our family of house-developed presses, robots, and extruders have directly shaped the identity of the collection. The limitations of these imperfect machines have gifted a visual language which envelops the function, tactility, and beloved oddness of the Kooij collection.

Working alongside our patchwork of machines is a studio of highly passionate craftspeople. Carpenters, welders, colourists, and finishers breathe life into the work. It is only through a union of crafts and technology that we are able to carry waste from loss to luxury.

A decade since this adventure began, we produce a tightly curated range of forever furniture in our Amsterdam-based factory. Select pieces have joined the permanent collections of the Stedelijk museum, MoMA New York, MoMA San Francisco, Vitra Design Museum, Design Museum London, and the National Museum in Oslo.

RINK SCHELLING

Fueled by curiosity, and a continuous fascination for material possibilities and craftsmanship. The journey of Rink’s research started with going back to her origin in Zeeland. This Dutch province is known for its high dunes along with wide beaches. Here the soil is made of fertile sea clay thanks to their world famous Delta Works that make it possible to live below sea level.

One particular perception occurred during her research; creating a product can be a transparent and honest process, as often most raw materials are all around us. Therefore, it made sense to start creating ceramics from natural clay close to home. Producing locally with regional materials. Moving away from complex industrialized processes created her counter reaction to complex production processes. Letting go of industrialized clay in which all characteristics of the original material are completely lost. In her work Rink combines ancient crafting techniques combined with contemporary techniques she developed due to her own research. Embracing the unpredictability of the material. Every branch, leaf and root has a significant effect on the process as the final product. Her cases tell the story of their origin; the used materials show to characteristics from their region.

Rink’s research led to a collection of organic shaped ceramic objects. Her aim is to combine craftsmanship, design and nature; she lets the material lead the process of making.

CEDRIC BREISACHER

Self-taught, I came from industrial design studies to wood shaping. Its carving process always starts by feeling emotions through a living material and then are characterized in a physical moment. My work seeks to an essential approach of the object without superflu in which I try to lead to an ultra local manufacturing.

Based in Lille, my workshop aims to become a circular place where no material is wasted. Inspired by nature and simple assembly, hand work is central in my approach. I am using hand tool traces that have a testimony of a living entity. This collaboration between two living elements merge into a vital dialogue about our condition and respect of living organisms.

MARIA TYAKINA

Maria Tyakina is a furniture designer whose practice focuses on sensorial perception and the re-imagination of habituated ways of looking at objects.

Her work is often characterized by sculptural gestures and focuses on exploring physicality and how objects mediate our connection to the physical world. Through a personal design language, her work blends form narratives with a character of a material and unique craftsmanship.

Maria completed her Interior Architecture and Furniture Design studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, The Netherlands where she now lives and works.

INTRODUCING DESTROYERS / BUILDERS

Inspired by architectural shapes that are foremost functional and all have an elementary character, the collection highlights the field between human and industrial through diverse materials. Within the works of Destroyers/Builders an interaction between the furniture pieces exists in an overarching inspiration; found in architectural elements, materials or building techniques.

Linde Freya Tangelder, founder of the studio, strives for sensory relevance and cultural value in detail and on a larger scale. The works have a sculptural and architectural character, and balance between contemporary and traditional elements. Inspired by architectural shapes, the furniture pieces highlight the field between industry and human, through diverse materials. Constructions are scaled down to human sizes, and translations result into sculptural gestures. Both low- and high-end materials get re-valued, reconsidered and transformed. The interventions and finishes by hand, give these architectural objects a tactile aspect. The contrast in materials, the touch ability, and the human traces that are still visible in the object, explain the method of Destroyers/Builders.

The urge to situate the works in a spatial context, in which the specific architectural space will start a dialogue with the objects therein, is a main focus of the studio. Integrations and relations between the context and the work, whether it is a sculpture, a furniture piece or an architectural fragment, result into inseparable connections between the disciplines. Destroyers/Builders takes on projects that range from commissions to self-initiated projects, and extend across the realms of both architectural furniture and interior projects. The practice is founded in 2014 and Antwerp & Brussels based.

MARIE BERNARD

Every work by artist duo Marie Bernard starts as a small collage. Using scissors, coloured paper and crayons, they follow their intuition, embracing any imperfections when translating these collages into objects and onto canvas.

Their paintings feature powerful compositions with strong primordial shapes, inspired by landscapes, art and architecture. A shared passion for colour and colour research results in vibrant, carefully balanced palettes.

Marie Bernard balances simplicity with poetry. Their work sits between recognition and abstraction – neither fully representational nor completely abstract. Together, they create a unique visual world that invites exploration and where viewers can freely navigate and discover their own interpretations.