Maarten Baas

Maarten Baas (1978) acquired the reputation of being one of the most influential Dutch designers of the 21^st century. He attained his degree at the Design Academy in the creative hub of Eindhoven. His works explore the vast boundaries between both art and design and are displayed internationally at museums like MoMa, Victoria & Albert Museum and the Rijksmuseum as well as in many private collections.

Maarten Baas moves in different fields, between design, art and theater. With his exhibition Hide & Seek, (Groningen Museum 2017) he confirms the unique place he has acquired within these fields. 

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May I have your attention, please

Constantly questioning the correlation between beauty and perfection his works are most known for being rebellious, playful, theatrical, artsy and often embedding an intellectual twist.

Over the years, Lensvelt has shown itself to be an engaged label, showing distinct -and award-winning- presentations at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. With artists such as Joep van Lieshout and Studio Job Lensvelt built a bridge between the commercial world and high-profile artists. The collaboration between Lensvelt and Maarten Baas, which was crowned with the Milano Design Award 2017 in Milan, also fits into this series.

The story

The cooperation between Lensvelt and Maarten Baas starts on 27 October 2016. That evening, Hans Lensvelt and Anne van der Zwaag organized a networking dinner at the Lensvelt Gallery on the Herengracht in Amsterdam. 

The conversation was about the next Salone del Mobile in Milan. Erik Kessels (co-founder KesselsKramer agency) and Anne suggested to Hans to create a presentation with Maarten Baas. Hans Lensvelt checks out the website of Maarten Baas on his phone. Hans's doubts are confirmed when he reads the text 'Maarten Baas is not interested in mass production'.
Lensvelt used to be CEO of MOOOI and knows Maarten Baas from the MOOOI Smoke Chair and the Smoke Armchair.
Following his designs for MOOOI Maarten Baas developed from designer to autonomous artist, so Hans saw no point in a collaboration but Anne van der Zwaag, cultural entrepreneur, was persistent.

And soon there was a plan and a concept: the presentation in Milan would be about the nearly 3,000 exhibitors who are all clamoring for attention. All of whom are crying out:

"May I have Your Attention Please."