Maarten De Ceulaer is exhibiting at three locations during the impending Salone del Mobile in Milan – PERSPECTIVES, a showcase of 25 established Belgian designers & design brands, will include Maarten’s prototype series MUTATION (above), at the Triennale de Milano;¬† with the series also on display at Rossana Orlandi, & Another Terra: Home Away From Home¬† alongside BCXSY, FORMAFANTASMA¬† & ANKE WEISS.

From the designer:

The pieces in this series look like they weren’t made by hands, but have grown to their present form organically. They might be the result of a mutation in cells, or the result of a chemical or nuclear reaction. Perhaps it’s a virus or bacteria that has grown dramatically out of scale. The Mutation pieces make you look at furniture in a different way. Maybe one day we would be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree.

The project can be seen as an experimental review of classic furniture upholstery. It reminds us of the famous and iconic deep buttoned (Chesterfield) sofa’s, interpreted in a highly contemporary and sculptural way. Instead of upholstering springs and foam with leather or textile, these pieces are created by carefully composing patterns with cut-offs of foam spheres of various sizes, and applying them onto a structure. In the end the entire piece gets coated, with a durable rubber or tactile velvet-like finish. It is hardly impossible to ever recreate such a specific pattern, so every piece is completely unique.

www.maartendeceulaer.com

IMAGES: Nico Neefs