Furniture designer Maarten Baas doesn't subscribe to conformist notions of beauty and symmetry. He finds appeal in the character of aged patinas and wear from usage. As such, Baas doesn't seek to create furniture or decorative objects that are perfectly proportioned — for proof, look no further than to the unconventional cabinets of his Close Parity collection or the chairs with oddly shaped backrests he designed for Lensvelt.
Baas breaks unspoken rules, and his influential work is as much art as it is functional design — he’s garnered support from likeminded creatives in his field such as Phillippe Starck and Marcel Wanders, and explores how he might put unusual materials to work such as clay or charred wood in the construction of his chairs and table lamps.
Baas was born in Germany and grew up in the Netherlands. After graduating high school, he began his studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. Before he had even graduated, Baas made an impression on instructors and students alike with his graduation project.
Using pieces of secondhand furniture he had procured online — some of which was manufactured by IKEA — Baas scorched the wood all the way through with a blowtorch. He soon found a way to preserve the wood once it was burned through, and this led to his inaugural Smoke series. The chairs and a lighting fixture from this line were put into production by Moooi, a furniture brand Wanders cofounded with Revised’s Casper Vissers in 2001. Hospitality guru Ian Schrager got in touch, and a pool table from the collection was custom-made by Baas for the Gramercy Park Hotel.
Since Smoke, Baas has produced numerous pieces, with his best-known efforts involving the repurposing of existing furniture and modifying it to look the way he wants. Ever the innovator, Baas introduced a series of clock designs as part of an art installation that began to take shape in 2009 at the Salone Del Mobile in Milan.
The designer’s clocks see an incorporation of video and other technology. Each piece, such as the ten-foot tall model installed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in 2016, presents the illusion of human figures toiling to keep time behind its face by way of a 12-hour recorded performance.
Baas’s works are held in the collections of many notable museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Contemporary Plain Clay Table with Light by Maarten Baas
By Maarten Baas
Located in Warsaw, PL
This table with light comes from Maarten Baas’s Plain Clay collection. This collection was originally developed for the Mendini restaurant in the Gron...
Metal
$7,743 / item
Contemporary Plain Clay Floor Light by Maarten Baas
By Maarten Baas
Located in Warsaw, PL
This floor light comes from Maarten Baas’s Plain Clay collection. This collection was originally developed for the Mendini restaurant in the Groninger Museum. Unlike the clay seri...
Metal
$4,073 / item
Contemporary Plain Clay Desk Light by Maarten Baas
By Maarten Baas
Located in Warsaw, PL
This desk light comes from Maarten Baas’s Plain Clay collection. This collection was originally developed for the Mendini restaurant in the Groninger Museum. Unlike the Clay Serie...
Metal
$359Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 7.9 in Dm 11.8 in
Contemporary Terracotta Side Table Made of Clay Handcrafted by the Potter Houda
Located in Marseille, FR
- Handbuilt terracotta side tables - made of clay collected from the potter's surroundings. - made in the Moroccan Rif mountains by the potter Houda. - co-created by the potter Houda...
Clay, Earthenware
$2,072Sale Price|40% Off
H 64.97 in W 31.5 in D 19.49 in
Very Rare Walnut Art Deco Large Side Table with Built in Height Adjustable Light
By Art Decor
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning original Art Deco walnut side table with built in height adjustable lamp A very rare early Deco piece in lovely lightly...
Walnut
$4,197 / item
H 51.19 in W 9.85 in D 11.82 in
Contemporary Floor Lamp "La Bienveilleuse" by Oma Light Design, Barcelona
By Oma Light Design
Located in Girona, Girona
“And when you listen to it, it becomes light ...” "La Bienveilleuse" is a commission for the office of a renowned Parisian psychoanalyst. Sitting in her chair, she illuminates t...
Brass, Steel
'Gear Table' by Norr11, Low, Clay
By Norr11
Located in Paris, IDF
Gear Tables by Kristian Sofus Hansen & Tommy Hyldahl Gear is a collection of sculptural coffee tables, inspired by Ancient Greek columns. Gear is designed as a simplified block-like...
Concrete
Dunbar Snack Table Floor Lamp, Model 4856, Designed by Edward Wormley
By Dunbar Furniture, Edward Wormley
Located in Hanover, MA
Rare Dunbar floor lamp/snack table combo, Model 4856, designed by Edward Wormley circa 1948. Original Dunbar tag on underside. Slender tapered walnut leg and lamp stem. Round top, 25...
Brass
Samson Berman Studio Craft Floor Lamp with Integrated Table
By Samson Berman
Located in Hanover, MA
Custom-made very grand scale (at 7 feet 6 inches tall) and sculptural walnut wood floor lamp with integrated side table from the Flushing, NY studios of Samson Berman...
Aluminum, Brass
Lucite Stacked Block Floor Lamp with Side Table
By Karl Springer
Located in Hanover, MA
Vintage lucite helix-form stacked blocks floor lamp with a 15 inch square lucite table top at 23 inches high. Chrome fittings. Stepped three tier lucite s...
Lucite
Vintage Tapered Brass Floor Lamp with Integrated Glass Table
Located in Hanover, MA
This is the sexiest one of these lamp tables I've ever seen. Note the quality of the double inverted and elongated tapered cones which form the stem. Where they intersect is the round glass disk table surface. The weighted base is made of copper. The original cylindrical parchment drum shade is embellished with dried flowers and pressed butterflies...
Sculptural Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamp with Built In Round Glass Side Table
By Adrian Pearsall
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Very nice craftsmanship sculptural walnut floor lamp. Frosted glass cylinder shape shade. Turned walnut base.
Glass, Walnut
$3,950Sale Price|46% Off
H 69.25 in W 19.25 in D 19.25 in
Tommi Parzinger for Parzinger Originals Floor Lamp with Side Table, 1955, Signed
By Parzinger Originals, Tommi Parzinger
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This incredible floor lamp with built-in side table by Tommi Parzinger for Parzinger Originals is finished in a black lacquer with Parzinger's signature brass accents. Signed 'Parzinger Originals' under the base, making this 1950s authentic designer piece ultra-collectible. The three lights comprise of a single up-light and two down-lights which can be turned on and off independently of one another or used in unison as demonstrated in the photos. A glass Stiffel branded glass cone shade sits on top of the lamp and a larger black fabric shade with golden insides is included. Can be used with or without the larger black shade. Consider using in a Mid-Century Modern, Hollywood Regency or Postmodern home...
Brass
Maarten Baas ”Sculpt" Office Desk, 2009
By Maarten Baas
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
Title: sculpt office desk Series: sculpt Edition: 3/8 (+2AP) Material: steel with a dark walnut veneer finish Size: 160 x 85 x 74 (w x d x h).
Steel
Floor Lamp with Built in Side Table
By Henredon, Baker Furniture Company
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Mid-Century Modern round tessellated tile marble top end occasional table stand floor lamp on square base with bracket feet.
Travertine
Sold
H 21.66 in W 25.6 in D 18.12 in
Moooi Smoke Chandelier Lamp in Wood with Epoxy Resin by Maarten Baas
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Furniture finished with fire. The beauty and character of burned wood is now captured in a long lasting material. By creating the strange sensation of a burnt chandelier Maarten Baas...
Wood