By Cassandra Pizzey /asdf 16-02-2012

Walking through the Las Palmas building at Rotterdam’s Wilhelminakade it is evident that a lot has changed at Object Rotterdam - as we reported last week. Happily there is a chance to speak to designers and find out about their newest projects.

Sundaymorning@ekwc, located in Den-Bosch is a temporary residency offered to designers who wish to develop their products into ceramics. During a three-month stay, New York-based Katrin Müller-Russo & Rhett Russo produced three chairs which demonstrate three very different properties of the material. “Through glazing in pink, silver and white we achieved a look of ceramics, metal and plastic,” explains Müller-Russo. The objects wouldn’t look out of place at neighbouring Art Rotterdam and that is just what director of Object Rotterdam Anne van der Zwaag aims to achieve.

Another set of artists who have paired-up and become designers are Muller van Severen (Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen) from Belgium. “We turned to furniture making and this is what rolled out. Even though our art is very different, people seem to recognize each of our signatures in these pieces which is a huge compliment.” The duo play with chopping-board material in their work, colour-coding according to function. With lights integrated into tables, chairs and sofa’s Muller van Severen leave a pretty original impression.

Belgium produced multiple talents at Object as we spotted the Gulden Snede by Studio Simple. This duo has created beautiful (made-to-measure) cabinets which combine wood, lighting and handblown glass in an array of golden hues. As each pane is handmade, no two are the same, amplifying the emotion in the products according to the designers. “It also shows how much craft goes into making each product. It’s a way of designing through feeling; the cabinets are standard, yet they aren’t.”

In addition to earlier-formed designer pairs, Van der Zwaag put together a number of duos herself. Maaike Roozenburg and Chris Slutter’s designs seemed natural to each other as they both refer to the past in a very modern way. Working together with de Porceleyne Fles (part of Delftsblauw) Roozenburg combines rare highlights of the collection with her cast iron Kenzans. “Delftsblauw was originally a copy of Eastern porcelain. Kenzan recreates spiked Japanese flower arranging objects. Combining the two has produced a really interesting mix.”
Behind her vases, a table, cabinet and shelf by Chris Slutter make a subtle gesture. Slutter looks for recognizable, industrial forms such as the trestle which he recreates in a wonderful minium or oxidized red colour. 


Moving on to a trio of designers, who’d never met until their products were displayed together at a stand - Nienke Sybrandy, Jeroen Wand and Ontwerpduo. Although she calls herself a designer, Nienke Sybrandy’s work could easily be displayed at an art gallery as she creates products which don’t solve questions but raise them. A tea-spoon which doubles as a soap-bubble blower, a gold-sheet notebook or a reproduction of a reproduction of a reproduction painting, the pieces each have a memento-mori or fleeting feel. Wand and Sybrandy have showed together before but we asked the designer what he though of the match with Ontwerpduo.

“My work is about a material research into various types of paper, and whether I could make them strong enough to act as furniture. The pieces really age and become more beautiful with use. Compared to the sleek designs of Ontwerpduo there is a huge difference but thanks to our similar use of colour it seems like a good pairing.”

Other great designs at Objects were among other spotted at Cristophe Coppens, Studio Drift, Ontwerplabel Vij5 and Studio Lizan Freijsen, D/Struct and Raw Colour.

Main image: Nynke Sybrandy
Other images: 1. Katrin Müller-Russo & Rhett Russo 2. Muller van Severen 3. Studio Simple 4. Maaike Roozenburg 5. Chris Slutter 6. Overview Object 7. Nynke Sybrandy 8. Jeroen Wand

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