Maarten Van Severen

"Maarten loved the idea of someone imprinting their history on to his furniture.” - Viaduct Director James Mair on Maarten Van Severen

The son of an artist, Maarten van Severen chose to study architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent. He completed three years before going to work in various agencies on interior design and furniture projects, then in 1986 started to make furniture. The first piece, a long and slender steel table, has since been recreated as an aluminium model, which has been further refined over the years.

In 1989 he produced his first wooden table; long, slim and pure in form, and in 1990 he turned his attention to chairs. His work, initially hand-produced in his workshop in Ghent, reflects his quest for perfection in form, detail and fabrication. Maarten worked in a variety of different materials, aluminium and ply to bakelite and polyester, to create pieces that all have an individual nature.