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.
Smoke Armchair by Maarten Baas for Moooi, 2000s
By Maarten Baas
Located in Renens, CH
Maarten Baas (the Netherlands) designed the Smoke series furniture for his 2002 graduation project at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Baas is considered one of the most influential Dut...
Leather, Wood
Smoke Armchairs by Maarten Baas for Moooi, 2000s
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in Renens, CH
Maarten Baas (the Netherlands) designed the Smoke series furniture for his 2002 graduation project at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Baas is considered one of the most influential Dut...
Leather, Wood
$3,438
H 41.34 in W 19.69 in D 19.69 in
Maarten Baas for Moooi Contemporary Designer Black Leather Chair
Located in Nottingham, GB
The Smoke Dining Chair, designed by Maarten Baas for Moooi, is one of the most recognisable and influential pieces of contemporary Dutch design. Part of Baas's celebrated Smoke colle...
Leather, Wood
$3,827 / item
H 41.74 in W 23.63 in D 24.81 in
Moooi Smoke Dining Armchair in Abbracci, Black Upholstery with Burnt Wood Frame
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Don't burn the diner — burn the dining chair! The beauty and character of burned wood is now captured in a long lasting material, creating the strange sensation of sitting on burnt furniture...
Upholstery
$2,585
H 41.74 in W 18.9 in D 22.45 in
Moooi Smoke Chair '2004' by Maarten Baas, Dutch Design, Post-Modern
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in CULEMBORG, GE
Manufactured by Moooi in 2003-2004, Maarten Baas’ series of Smoke Chairs are made of expensive leather in a burnt wood frame — a truly original and unique ...
Leather, Wood
$2,803 / item
H 41.74 in W 18.9 in D 22.45 in
Moooi Smoke Dining Chair in Abbracci, Black Upholstery with Burnt Wood Frame
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Don't burn the diner — burn the dining chair! The beauty and character of burned wood is now captured in a long lasting material, creating the strange sensation of sitting on burnt furniture...
Upholstery
$6,243 / set
H 40.95 in W 29.53 in D 31.5 in
Pair of Smoke armchairs by Maarten Baas for Moooi, 2000s.
By Maarten Baas
Located in Renens, CH
Smoke is an armchair created by Maarten Baas for Moooi. This armchair takes us back to the time of Louis XIV. This magnificent armchair is upholstered in black leather. Each piece is...
Leather, Wood
Smoke Chairs by Maarten Baas for Moooi, 2000s
By Moooi, Maarten Baas
Located in Renens, CH
Maarten Baas (the Netherlands) designed the Smoke series furniture for his 2002 graduation project at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Baas is considered one of the most influential Dut...
Leather, Wood
$11,276 / item
H 39.38 in W 35.04 in D 31.11 in
Moooi Jackson Chair in Black Leather Embroidery Upholstery with Steel Frame
By Moooi, MARCEL WANDERS
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sometimes you just need to feel supported, seduced, protagonist of your own world for a moment. After much giving, working and planning for others, you need to find your center by settling down in your favourite chair, taking some time for yourself. Energized and sustained by the grand backrest, you master the right frame of mind to conquer and create. Just recline the seat and swivel around in your Jackson till you are ready to bounce back to business! Additional information: Material: Steel, HR foam Upholstery: Signature leather embroidery...
Upholstery
$3,414Sale Price / item|25% Off
H 36.23 in W 36.62 in D 32.29 in
Baleri Italia Richard III Armchair in Black Leather by Philippe Starck
By Baleri Italia, Philippe Starck
Located in Milano, Lombardia
The very essence of bourgeois décor with a modern twist, the object as a mask, a technological jack-in-the-box. These are the ingredients of this highly symbolic armchair. The Richard III was created by Philippe Starck who, moved by the sight of battered old club armchairs abandoned in the street, decided to give them a new life. At this time, Starck was imagining President’s private apartment interiors in the Elysée Palace and the Richard III became President François Mitterrand’s favorite armchair. Armchair with completely molded structure in rigid structural polyurethane, painted with polyurethane enamel. Cushion in expanded polyurethane and dacron. Philippe Starck, world famous creator with multifaceted inventiveness, is always focused on the essential, his vision: that creation, whatever form it takes, must improve the lives of as many people as possible. By employing his prolific work across all domains, from everyday products (furniture, a citrus-squeezer, electric bikes, an individual wind turbine), to architecture (hotels, restaurants that aspire to be stimulating places) and naval and spatial engineering (mega yachts, space habitation module), he continually pushes the boundaries and requirements of design, becoming one of the most visionary and renowned creators of the international contemporary scene. In 1984 and 1985, Philippe Starck collaborated with Baleri to create five pieces of furniture: Café Chair, Francesca Spanish, Richard III, Président M...
Leather
