French bi-annual interior design fair Maison&Objet announce Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen as their ‘Designer(s) of the Year’ for this year’s spring/summer exhibit.
After meeting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium, Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen joined forces in 2011. Their backgrounds in photography and sculpture led the pair into the furniture scene, describing themselves as “creators, but above all, manufacturers”.
Since Muller Van Severen’s inception more than a decade ago, their avant-garde style and experimental application of form and colour have seen the designers collaborate with a series of brands, designers and museums, including Hermès, Valerie Objects, Vitra Museum, Musée d’Art Decorative Paris, and most recently, Danish brand HAY.
As part of the duo’s recognition as Maison&Objet’s Designer(s) of the Year, Muller Van Severen will curate a stand-alone exhibition highlighting illustrious pieces and experiences from each year of their career, while presenting new commissions, including a series of vases for Bitossi, a rug for Kvadrat and a floor lamp developed for Valerie Objects. “Most players in the design world are familiar with our work, but in reality, very few get to interact with our pieces. The exhibition we envision for the fair will be the opportunity to present our large family of objects to everyone,” Hannes Van Severen says.
Stay tuned for est living’s on-the-ground reportage at Maison&Objet and Paris Design Week from Thursday, 7 September to Thursday, 14 September 2023.
Muller Van Severens’s studio in Evergem on the outskirts of Ghent, Belgium.
Designed in 2012, the Valerie Objects Duo Seat was one of Muller Van Severens’s first pieces and remains one of their most recognisable.
“We have a primitive relationship with objects. Our approach, resolutely playful, lies between simplistic lines and bright colours. The contrast between the will to control the form and to impose minimalist conditions while letting the colours express themselves freely is a great source of amusement.”
– Fien Muller
The ALLTUBES series by Muller Van Severen consists of cabinets, a bench and a chair constructed solely from round aluminium tubes.
The WIRE collection comprises a series of stainless steel and powder-coated stainless steel objects designed for Solo House; an iconic holiday house in the North of Spain designed by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen.
Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen
