MANIERA 16: MARIE-JOSÉ VAN HEE I.C.W. MARIE MEES & CATHÉRINE BIASINO
30 November ‘17 - 24 February ‘18
In early 2017, Marie-José Van Hee was awarded a prestigious International Fellowship by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for her contribution to architecture. MANIERA turns the spotlight on this grande dame of Belgian architecture by showing her new and existing furniture.
Marie-José Van Hee’s architecture is tranquil and ascetic. In most of her designs for homes, furniture is an integral part of the space. Walls, stairs, galleries, they all hide cupboards, cloakrooms, workspaces, alcoves or bookcases. This gives rise to empty space that the occupants themselves can make use of. Free-standing pieces of furniture are composed of a limited number of materials and display the same elementary structural simplicity. They can also always be used for several purposes.
MANIERA shows the existing bed-bank (bed/sofa) and the huis-werk-tafel (house/work/table), which are both the result of a design process lasting several years, alongside a new piece, the dien-blad-koffer (serving/tray/case). Marie-José invited Marie Mees and Cathérine Biasino to upholster the bed-bank and to domesticate the exhibition space. The textile designs by this Ghent duo, founders of the design label ThealfredCollection, are fully in keeping with Van Hee’s architecture. They show the same preference for natural materials, craftsmanship and tactile quality. Together, Van Hee, Mees and Biasino like to use textiles to add a new dimension to interiors: they make it possible to define space flexibly and more lightly.
IN COLLABORATION WITH
MARIE MEES & CATHÉRINE BIASINO
Curated by Katrien Vandermarliere
27 – 28, PLACE DE LA JUSTICE, BRUSSELS (BE)
