muller van severen exhibits selection of work at modernist masterpiece villa cavrois

from 16 june to 31 october, 2020, the exhibition ‘design ! muller van severen at villa cavrois’ brings a selection of muller van severen‘s work to modernist masterpiece villa cavrois. the belgian duo fien muller and hannes van severen present a selection of their oeuvre at the iconic mansion, built by french architect robert mallet-stevens in 1932. carefully set up in the different rooms of the building, their objects aspire to stay as close to the architecture as possible, without losing their own identity or presence. all images © fien muller unless stated otherwise

muller van severen is invited to the iconic villa cavrois to present a selection of their work as part of lille metropole 2020, world design capital. carefully set up in the different rooms of the building, the objects exist in in harmony with their surroundings, not as strange entities. pieces on display include their recent ‘alltubes’ series and ‘sofa cavrois’, a new piece designed especially for this occasion. the first sofa the duo has ever designed, ‘sofa cavrois’ refers to the visual language of their wire S# series but has a totally different finish and feel. designed for interiors, the sculptural piece features warm green linen fabric and elegant brass legs.

‘time becomes irrelevant in this project, as we want to create the poetic feeling that our objects could originate from the same time as the building,’ fien muller and hannes van severen explain. ‘in the same way that the building itself feels very contemporary.’

also on view in the exhibition is the studio’s recent series ‘alltubes’, which comprises pieces made of aluminum tubes. here, the designers started from the material itself, exploiting its potential to see how far one can go with it. in the case of the cabinets, the repetitive rhythm of the pipes placed next to each other – causing undulations – makes one forget the coldness of the material. in the bench and the chair, bending the material softens its hardness. image © mirjam devriendt