Belgium IS
DESIGN
Belgium is Design promotes Belgian design talent internationally and connects design professionals at key events and B2B meetings, from Brussels to Milan, via Paris and New York.
In this respect, the Milan International Furniture Fair is a key event for Belgium is Design. It was in the design capital that the first initiatives were launched by the following institutions : Flanders DC, MAD - Home of Creators and Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode, which joined in 2011 to form the Belgium is Design project.
Since then, 10 exhibitions in the Fuorisalone, 15 years of presence at the Salone-Satellite, 1 short film and more than 160 designers and companies have been shown as part of the Design Week.
This year, Belgium is Design is concentrating its efforts on a major exhibition in the Fuorisalone and the Belgian Design Map and will not be taking part in Salone Satellite.
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BOLD Dualities
For the first time in the history of Belgium is Design (the international design platform organized by Flanders DC, WBDM and MAD Brussels), more than 30 designers and design studios are exhibiting together during Milan Design Week. Under the title BOLD Dualities, the two curators of Baroness O. are bringing together homegrown talent in a scenography by Karel Burssens. As the title suggests, it has become a bold, daring but above all idiosyncratic selection.
From April 15 to 21, 2024, Belgium is Design will represent and celebrate the Belgian identity during Design Week in Milan, the annual high mass when it comes to contemporary design and interior trends. The venue chosen will be Baranzate Ateliers, an initiative of designer Lionel Jadot. Belgium may be a small country with a rather complex historical and political structure, but our designers often adopt a modest, adaptive and ambiguous attitude. These contradictions come together in the presentation BOLD Dualities.
The presentation, which includes objects by more than thirty Belgian designers, shows how our designers adapt to the country's ambiguous identity, how they navigate complex situations and how they connect to the environment in which they live. But above all, how this translates into their designs. How they stimulate and question the design industry. How they continue to push standards within existing boundaries. And how they never shy away from challenges. That attitude often sets them apart from similar international profiles, allowing them to focus on an idiosyncratic way of designing. That is what makes Belgian design unique.
Curators Baroness O. further emphasize the duality from the title by dividing the selected objects into two groups. They set them opposite each other, as it were. It creates an exciting dichotomy between objects and their designers where the contradiction strangely brings them together but also divides them. The result is a dynamic game between two groups that write a common story in different ways, attracting and repelling each other, dividing and connecting. These groups enter into dialogue with each other in a scenography by Karel Burssens.
BOLD
The BOLD selection on the one hand, shows Belgian modesty in design and use of materials. The objects within this selection appear sober, austere and minimal. The unusual use of materials, unusual extrusions and objects without apparent functions, on the other hand, ensure that each object colors outside the lines in a structured way and uniquely breaks contemporary design norms.
This first selection includes mostly large pieces such as furniture, larger deco objects and mirrors. Cold and harsh colors and materials such as metal dominate this category. We see this for example in the objects by Oskar de Roover, Studio MOTO, paulinpluslouis, Nuts 'n Bolts, Duplex and Fractall. Mirrored materials, in turn, are seen in Lou van 't Riet, Venlettettelin and Studio BISKT. Stone and ceramics appear in the works of Muller van Severen for HAY and plastics at Lisa Berden. Colder materials are refracted in the wooden objects of Caporusso and Studio Plastique, in the textile objects of Nathalie Van der Massen and Maud Brunstein, and by extension in the wallpaper collection of Tenue De Ville.
COLOURFUL
The COLOURFUL selection on the other hand, then, is small but brave, like our country. The objects are bold, extroverted and striking. Unlike the BOLD selection, these designs are smaller in size, like the vases by Studio BISKT, Studio Matta, Studio Minimètre, Home Studyo and Studio NAS, like the coffee mugs by KRUM and the cutlery by Muller Van Severen for HAY, like the lamp by Nortstudio. The colors used are cheerful and playful, literally in the toy kit by Combo Toys. In turn, the materials are warm with a selection of textile objects by Studio LEDA, Chateau Résort, amgs studio & omarcity, Maak & Transmettre and the rugs by Cocono, among others.
UNIQUE CHARACTER
With almost three times as many objects selected, it is the first time Belgium is Design has shown a selection of that size during Milan Design Week. The curators of Baroness O. therefore felt it was important to show the broadest possible view of Belgian design based on a coherent concept where both established values and young talent come together. What is striking in the 2024 selection is a greater presence of collectible design compared to industrial design, although the latter remains a very important Belgian characteristic.
We also see a strong presence in the selection in terms of objects in function of personal well-being such as, for example, the stilling object by Jules Vrijsen, the cuddly stool by Bent Fierens, the mirror by Venlettettelin that shows the viewer multiple perspectives or the wall object by Lisa Berden that plays with the relationship between body and space. Other designs contribute to that personal well-being through their ultimate cheerfulness such as the designs by COMBO Toys, nortstudio, Home Studyo, KRUM, studio NAS or the warm coziness at Cocono, Atelier LEDA, amgs studio x omarcity.
And finally, great importance is also attached to individuality and the possibility of shutting oneself off from the world through curtains as at Chateau Resort, Maak & Transmettre and Maud Brunstein or the paravents by Nathalie Van der Massen.
ABOUT BARONESS O.
Curators of the expo are Baroness O., a creative studio founded in 2011, based in Brussels and run by Anne Van Assche and Kim Vandeloo. Baroness O. focuses on curating, scenography, organization, art direction and design. All this on an interface between art and design. In doing so, they always aim to highlight the story behind a design in a coherent way. In recent years they have worked on a variety of projects for clients such as the Design Museum Ghent, the Biennale Interieur, Vitra and Feeling Wonen. They also came up with their own concepts such as the exhibition Familiar Reflections and the design pop-up shop SUPERMARKET. www.baronesso.com
ABOUT STUDIO KAREL BURSSENS
Karel Burssens is a transdisciplinary artist, trained as an architect and engineer, with a wide range of projects on his record including fashion shows for Dior, Lanvin and Kenzo, among others. He also develops international projects where scenography, installation art and architecture often come together. On different physical scales, ranging from independent objects and sculptures to complex performance-based collaborative projects, his work triggers social reflections. Contextualization and conceptual layering, technological means and human interactions play an important role.
www.karelburssens.com -
amgs studio
Atelier Leda
Bent Fierens
Chateau Resort
Combo Toys
Duplex
Fractall
Home Studyo
Jules Vrijsen
KRUM
Lisa Berden
Lou van ’t Riet
Maak & Transmettre
Matta studio
Maud Brunstein
Muller Van Severen
Nathalie Van der Massen
Nortstudio
Nuts and Bolts
Oskar De Roover
paulineplusluis
Sebastien Caporusso
Studio BISKT
Studio Minimètre
Studio MOTO
Studio Nas
Studio Plastique
Tenue de Ville
Venlettettelin -