New work, commissioned for the award, along with a retrospective of Baas’ work are presented at the December edition of Design Miami/. Now in its fifth year, the Award has gone to an impressive list of esteemed designers, including Zaha Hadid, Marc Newson, Tokujin Yoshioka and the Campana Brothers.

At only 31 years of age, Maarten Baas is a strikingly young designer who has impacted the world of design in an unprecedented short period of time.

Baas will be creating an installation at this year’s fair. Instead of offering a straightforward
overview of his work, Baas has decided to design a theatrical environment where his past work will be mingled with other items from his mental travels, from items found in the street, to product samples, to other designers’ work. The overall atmosphere takes inspiration from “Cabinets of Curiosities”, Dutch rooms which display the collections of
Grand Tour travellers from the past who brought back objects of interest, such as geological formations, ancient coins, statuary and other fascinating discoveries. “The objects are often presented in mysterious ways, where it’s not entirely clear what they are or what they mean,” Baas comments. “I think this is a fitting approach to looking at my work.” In addition to inanimate objects, Baas will also include live actors in the installation.

Baas’ installation will also show for the first time examples from an entirely new series of work, created expressly for the Design Miami/ Designer of the Year Award. This new collection will include a series of cabinets fabricated in metal, with irregular shapes of steel welded together to form a shell surrounding a rich and refined interior.

Design Miami du 2-5 dec. 2009 - 11am-7pm
Professional opening, 1 dec. 2009 - 6pm-10pm
Nocturne by invitation 3 dec. 2009 - 7pm-9pm

Maarten Baas: www.maartenbaas.com

Studio Maarten Baas / portrait / photographer: Kristina Gill / location: Studio Maarten Baas, Gewande, The Netherlands