'10 Years of Muller Van Severen' at Design Museum Gent celebrates Belgian design

Design Museum Gent is currently showcasing ‘10 years of Muller Van Severen’ to celebrate Belgium based design studio, Muller Van Severen, that recently completed ten years of its practice. The exhibition displays art from the museum’s archives in addition to the iconic objects and installations created by the Belgian design studio. Dubbed as the last exhibition by the museum at their Ghent location in Belgium, the exhibition will remain on display until March 2022, following which, the museum closes its doors for the next two years in order to refurbish and expand. It also honours the impact that the museum has had in the world of art and design.

Founded in 2011 by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, Muller Van Severen is a design studio based out of Ghent. The duo works at the intersection of art and design to create sculptural furniture and lighting pieces that work as both utilitarian objects and as standalone ornamental pieces. The studio indulges in experimentation with colours and materials to create pieces that can intrigue viewers. The collective states, “Our objects reflect our deep appreciation of the materials we use to create them. When it comes to colour, we prefer to use integrally coloured materials, in which the colour penetrates to the very core of the object. Our paints are applied in textured layers, lending the designs a natural radiance.”

Tracing their design journey through the past decade, Muller Van Severen, who dabble in all kinds of product design, have chosen pieces from the museum's collection that resonate with their own design philosophy and approach, one where the purpose behind something holds more importance than the outcome. Almost a hundred pieces from the museum’s archival collection create a stimulating and impactful dialogue with the pieces created by the designer duo. Some of the pieces selected from the museum’s archive include works by Alvar Aalto, Ron Arad, Marcel Breuer, Marc Newson, Jean Prouvé, Léon Stynen, Linde Freya Tangelder and Willy Van der Meeren amongst others.

The composition of the installation pieces are in harmony with both the display area and the collections displayed from the museum archives. A part of the exhibition has been designed to introduce the visitors to an array of ten key figures that significantly influenced Muller Van Severen’s understanding of design and influenced their creative path. This also helps visitors understand how their creative processes evolved over the years with reference to their muse and mentors. Consequently, the exhibition showcases an array of colours and shapes, working down from the ceiling, turning walls into panels of art.

The exhibition ‘10 years of Muller Van Severen’ will remain on display until 6th March 2022 at Design Museum Gent in Ghent, Belgium.