Maarten Baas at the Louvre

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, located in the Louvre museum’s west wing, is currently presenting the works of Dutch designer Maarten Baas. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is the only museum in France which can offer a vast panorama of the decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present day. The museum is focused on decorative arts and design. For his first exhibition in a Parisian museum, Maarten Baas, who is famous for his iconoclast and fanciful creations, has imagined a universe inspired by the curiosity cabinets that first appeared in the 14th century.

In his controversial experimental work, Maarten Baas plays with conventions and reality, he turns preconceived ideas upside down, forging his own universe and merrily challenging design’s limits to reveal a new curious reality. With ‘Les curiosités d’un designer’ for the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Maarten Baas has chosen a theatrical approach and created four rooms that are like a décor for a movie or a theatre play, rather than merely a presentation of design pieces. The designs of Maarten Baas are mixed with anonymous pieces and are meant to become like characters in the narratives that seem to be told by the created settings. The exhibition emphasizes the surreal and story telling way of designing, which is subject of many of Maarten Baas’ pieces.  

Maarten Baas: Les curiosités d’un designer

7 October 2011–12 February 2012

Musée des Arts décoratifs – Galerie d’actualité, Paris

www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr


Images: Studio Maarten Baas / Maarten van Houten