© Moss
For more information:
- www.maartenbaas.nl
- www.mossonline.com
Maarten
Baas
Where There's Smoke
solo exhibition
New York City,
May 15-23, 2004
Moss
150 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
Tel.: 212-204-7100
Opening reception: Saturday, May 15, 7-10pm (by inivitation only!)
An assemblage of unique pieces created by Dutch designer Maarten Baas,
in cooperation with Moss, in which historic examples of the most innovative
moments, including the Rococo, Jugendstil, Mid-twentieth century, and
Contemporary periods (having been the strongest personal influences in
the studies of this recent young graduate from Eindhoven Academy, the
Netherlands), are systematically burned, and then preserved with an epoxy
and, where required, re-upholstered in a precious wool textile created
for this project by Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra.
The exhibition will consist of 25 pieces, including Gerrit T. Rietveld's
1918 Red/Blue chair and his 1934 Zig Zag chair; Antoni Gaudi's 1902 Calvet
armchair; Charles and Ray Eames's 1946 Moulded Plywood chair; Isamu Noguchi's
1948 free-form coffee table; Charles R. Mackintosh's 1902 Hill House chair;
Ettore Sottsass's 1981 Carlton (Memphis) room divider; and Tejo Remy's
1991 chest of drawers, "You Can't Lay Down Your Memories".
As in the great steam engines of the nineteenth century, Baas proposes
design as a "fuel" which, when thrown on the fire, releases
energy to propel us forward. When the smoke settles, the charred, scarred,
spent, but proud and beautifully transformed state of these icons celebrates
their profound contribution. A new "family" of cherished objects
emerges, similarly used, wasted, and therefore strangely related through
the eloquence of their metamorphosis.