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.
$23,458 / item
Contemporary Clay Bookshelves by Maarten Baas
By Maarten Baas
Located in Warsaw, PL
These vibrant Bookshelves are from Maarten Baas’s iconic ‘Clay’ collection launched in 2006. The idiosyncratic childishness of this collection is created through Baas’s individual ha...
Metal
White Surfer Bookcase, Bookshelves, Design object
By kontra
Located in İstanbul, İstanbul
"Add a Touch of Contemporary Artistry to Your Space with the White Surfer Bookcase Bookshelves Design Object Elevate your interior decor with the White...
Oak
$3,847
H 112.01 in W 64.77 in D 15.56 in
Italian Teak, Black Metal and Brass Midcentury Bookshelves Roomdivider
By Franco Albini and Franca Helg, Poggi
Located in Varese, Lombardia
This bookshelves was produced in Italy by SELEX in the 1960s. Thanks to its adjustable height ( 278 - 284,5 /285 cm max) it can be placed against a wall or anywhere in a room, used ...
Brass, Metal
$5,710
H 53 in W 94.5 in D 14.5 in
Contemporary Inori Glass Bookcase by Setsu & Shinobu Ito for Fiam Italia
By FIAM
Located in Chicago, IL
The Inori modular bookcase, designed for Fiam by Setsu & Shinobu Ito, is the first system in the furniture industry entirely made of glass, and composed of modular elements. Showr...
Glass
$5,440Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 68 in W 28 in D 11 in
Contemporary Shelving Room Divider "Paso" in Walnut by Casey Lurie USA
By Casey Lurie
Located in Chicago, IL
Paso shelving was designed to embody simplicity and harmony through the use of rhythmical geometries and warm natural materials. Alternating ladder-like shelves create discrete sections which are ideal for displaying favorite books and objects. This understated design lends itself to any space, and can be produced in mirrored pairs for added spatial symmetry. Entirely made by hand in ecologically sourced American black walnut using...
Wood
$4,279 / item
H 64.97 in Dm 18.9 in
MYDNA, Bookshelves, Standing Shelf, Storage System in Oak Wood by Joel Escalona
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
MYDNA is a chic and contemporary storage system inspired by the DNA concept: both by its sophisticated double helix shape, and by the metaphorical statement that everything you place...
Plywood
Pair of Patinated Iron and Pine Bakers Rack or Bookshelves
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Artisan crafted pair of iron and pine bakers racks or bookshelves for display. Beautifully crafted with an intentionally patinated finish on the ironand an aged bleached finish on th...
Iron
$4,279 / item
H 64.97 in Dm 18.9 in
MYDNA, Bookshelves, Standing Shelf, Storage System in Black Wood, Joel Escalona
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
MYDNA is a chic and contemporary storage system inspired by the DNA concept: both by its sophisticated double helix shape, and by the metaphorical statement that everything you place...
Plywood
$3,616 / item
H 64.97 in Dm 18.9 in
MYDNA, Bookshelves, Standing Shelf, Shelving Unit in Red Finish by Joel
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
MYDNA is a chic and contemporary storage system inspired by the DNA concept: both by its sophisticated double helix shape, and by the metaphorical statement that everything you place...
Plywood
$12,240 / set
H 68 in W 28 in D 11 in
Mirrored Pair Contemporary Shelving "Paso" in Walnut by Casey Lurie
By Casey Lurie
Located in Chicago, IL
Paso shelving was designed to embody simplicity and harmony through the use of rhythmical geometries and warm natural materials. Alternating ladder-like shelves create discrete secti...
Wood
$12,880 / item
H 55.12 in W 15.75 in D 63 in
21st Century Studio Irvine Fusto Bookcase Concrete Bookshelves Ink Grey Cement
By Marialaura Rossiello
Located in Rome, Lazio
Bookcase part of a collection of modular system in ultra-high performing cement mortar. UHPC tabletop and base colored in the mixture and sandblasted. Available in eight different co...
Concrete
$3,616 / item
H 64.97 in Dm 18.9 in
MYDNA, Bookshelves, Standing Shelf, Shelving Unit in Black Finish, Joel Escalona
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
MYDNA is a chic and contemporary storage system inspired by the DNA concept: both by its sophisticated double helix shape, and by the metaphorical statement that everything you place...
Plywood
$3,616 / item
H 64.97 in Dm 18.9 in
MYDNA, Bookshelves, Standing Shelf, Shelving Unit in White Finish by Joel
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
MYDNA is a chic and contemporary storage system inspired by the DNA concept: both by its sophisticated double helix shape, and by the metaphorical statement that everything you place...
Plywood