Talk: Maarten Baas

Considered among the most influential artists of the contemporary international scene for his ironic and irreverent approach, the playground “Forever Young”, made entirely of brass, has been a big success, entertaining and surprising the Mediateca audience. We now present to you the interview with the artist from the day of the presentation. 

You are generally referred to as an “artistic designer” for your approach, always on the border between artistic production and design. Will you share this definition? Do you reflect your own philosophy and approach to work? 

The definition of art and design could ask for a lot of my time, but I focus just on making the things that I feel like making, without categorizing it or defining it. I’m most interested in the real things I do, so I don’t have the necessity to put it in boxes.

Yours is a constant and important presence at the Salone del Mobile. This year, Wallpaper* “Handmade” celebrates the union between craftsmanship and design excellence, very dear and close themes to your artistic production. To what extent does this mixing affect your way of designing? 

Craftsmanship is somehow a theme of my work because a craftsman can make personality into a product, and that’s what I like in my work. Anyway, a human being can make more beautiful products than a machine. So the effort of good craftsmanship is important. That is also what I decided in collaboration with Henge, to really make something which is beautifully executed and with good materials that I think are the characteristics that make a soul of the products. 

“Wellness & Wonder” is the theme of this year’s exhibition. Through your work, it emerges how important it is to rediscover the individual’s innate harmony. Can you talk about “Forever Young” and the initial idea that it took shape from? 

 When Wallpaper* asked me to make something within the theme of “Wellness and Wonder”, I felt like, “Where do I feel well?” and “When was I in wonderland?”, and I wanted to make a mixture between my current life and my childhood life and the desires around those two worlds. I took it from there, and the initial idea has been executed and has been seen here.

For me, the material is always the secondary thing. The idea comes first, and then I choose the material which defines that the best. It’s important to work in refined and beautiful materials, but it’s not one material that I prefer. The material is never the starting point. It’s always the idea with which it starts, and from there I fill in the gaps. 

The Henge brand is strongly tied to artisan production and to material enhancement and research. In this sense, your approach has many points in common. Will you talk about this collaboration? How did it come about?  

The collaboration with Henge was really cool because it’s very hard to find companies that have the courage to actually do what I like because often it goes beyond the limit of what a brand wants to identify with. Henge really understood the project and really went for it all the way, and I think that’s the best way how two partners can collaborate and take the best out of each other. I really enjoyed working with them, and I am happy that they brought it to such a direct result.