Maarten Van Severen

Maarten van Severen (1956-2005) was a Belgian designer famous for the rigorous geometric essential nature of his creations. He was born in Antwerp by the famous painter Dan van Severen, author of minimalist and abstract paintings all played on primary forms that certainly had a great influence in the aesthetic formation of his son. After studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Gand Maarten devoted himself to the creation and production of limited series furniture and interior design, finding the opportunity to collaborate frequently with the future archistar Rem Koolhaas. Over the years he focuses more and more his attention on the creation of seats, constantly looking for the "perfect chair". In this he finds the perfect partner in the Vitra brand, which gives him the opportunity to experiment with different materials and various production processes, allowing him to think for the first time of furniture intended for industrial production without betraying the profound formal rigor of his aesthetic. Among the other brands with which he had the opportunity to collaborate before his untimely death we remember De Padova, Kartell, Edra, Bulo and Pastoe.