Joris Laarman: Maker Chairs

To mark Mondriaan’s 150th birthday, Villa Mondriaan is showing work by two contemporary artists that like him started in the Achterhoek, but have since shown their work worldwide. Designer Joris Laarman is one of them, a 21st century high tech craftsman that grew up in Borculo.

Joris Laarman graduated cum laude from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2003 and has since become known worldwide for his works. In the Joris Laarman Lab, now based in Amsterdam, the synergy of the latest techniques, science and crafts is fundamental. Together with his team of engineers, programmers and craftsmen, Laarman searches for new possibilities at the intersection of art, design, science and technology. In search of the possibilities of the future, new theories, materials and production methods are constantly being tested and refined in the lab.

In Joris Laarman: Maker Chairs, Villa Mondriaan shows a number of key works from his Maker Chairs series (2014). The Maker Chairs are made up of small 3D printed or wooden parts that fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. The blueprints of a few models have been made available via the Bits & Parts website. Laarman is thus demonstrating a new democratic vision of design. Anyone can design a new version of the Maker Chair, and some designs are even easy to make at home with just a 3D printer and a few broomsticks. Villa Mondriaan shows several variants of these chairs, including the prototype Hexagon, Maze, Voronoi Wood and of course the Bits and Parts Maker Chair.