Maximum balance between proportions and material in the works of the Belgian designer Maarten Van Severen

Passing the gallery

Interview prepared: Lyudmila Kryshtaleva

Magazine: N4 (49) 2001

Belgian Maarten Van Severen was recognized as the designer of the year at the last Salon du Meuble exhibition in Paris. As usual in such cases, a lot of journalists gathered, TV arrived. There were all ... except for Maarten himself. The organizers were surprised, but not very. This happens to creative people. We still managed to find the designer and ask him a few questions. The first thing that was asked, of course, was why he did not come to the meeting. It turned out that Maarten had lost his mobile phone in a taxi and had been at his booth for a long time, but for some reason no one had found him there. But it seemed to us that this misunderstanding is best explained by the following phrase:- I hate all these exhibitions. Maarten is a very likeable person. A smile does not leave his face, no, not a grimace of European politeness, but a slightly crafty and ironic smile.- You look like a very confident person. - Yes? When the thing is ready, I really am quite sure about it. But while designing - not at all. We only note that the collection of works by Van Severen is not so great. He has been working on each piece of furniture and the lamp for a long time - sometimes more than a year. The fact that Maarten in his work is repelled by the material, in how long he has been working on his projects, and even in his hatred for exhibitions there is hardening, a commitment to the old craft school that tunes the workshop to a concentrated silence. No wonder Maarten does not like the word "designer", preferring to him "carpenter". - Frankly, I am surprised that you were chosen as the designer of the year. Young people quickly and competently promote themselves. And you, it seems, care little at all. They demonstrate prototypes at exhibitions, look for manufacturers. And over the course of several years they have acquired a customer and a name. You are 43 years old, and in your arsenal there are not so many famous factories: VITRA, EDRA, BULO. - Over the past ten years, the attitude towards design has changed a lot. The market requires a quick change of old products to new models. Yes, I have been making furniture for quite some time. I used to make it myself and sell it myself. A few years ago, VITRA bought a chair model from me. However, so that the portrait of our hero is not too modest, we add that Van Severen creates a lot of furniture for specific tasks. More than once he collaborated with such a renowned architect as Rem Koolhaas. Among the projects implemented are the Pompidou Center (chairs and armchairs for the public library), furniture for the French Ministry of Culture (St. Honore building) ... At the end of the conversation, I asked Maarten to show the subtleties for which he has been working on projects for so long. Going to a new deck chair, he began to talk about the choice of plastic, which stretches to a certain, given degree. - Everything that I do, I do for myself. This chaise lounge is made to fit my body. But due to the plasticity of the material, it is suitable for another person. As the forty-first size boots fit for the fortieth with socks ... Perhaps, indeed, it’s not the designers who joke, but rather the craftsmen. High skill has always been in the price. Nowadays, it is rethought, acquiring new value, expression and compliance with modern tastes.