Marcel Wanders
Should I have heard of him? No, but his work represents a zany alternative to standard slick, synthetic modernist designs.
What's his story? Wanders was born in 1963 in Boxtel, the Netherlands. After graduating from the Academy of Art in Arnhem in 1988, he became an industrial designer and art director at firms such as WAAC's Design & Consultancy in Rotterdam. In 1995, Wanders set up his own business, Wanders Wonders. In 1996, he won the Netherlands' prize for industrial design, the Kho Liang Ie Award. That year, he presented his Knotted Chair (below) at the Milan Furniture Fair. The Museum of Modern Art in New York promptly bought the oddity.
What is he most famous for? The Knotted Chair. It consists of carbon-fibre rope knotted into a loose shape, soaked in epoxy resin, hung on a frame and dried until stiff. The jurors at the 1997 Rotterdam Design Prize said the design miracle 'appeals to the imagination because it realises the designer's age-old dream: making something soft and flat become rigid and three-dimensional.'
What else has he done? The Flower Chair is extraordinary, consisting of individual flowers formed out of wire and then
welded together. Another highlight is Celsius, a water-bottle design inspired by the fusion of two key elements: air and water. According to Wanders, the combination creates 'shapes that are endless like fractals, natural and rich as the water itself'. Another memorable product is the convertible Antelope car (below right) he made for the 2004 100% Design Fair in London.
What hasn't he done? He appears to have dabbled in just about every design-related form of expression, including music and jewellery-making. At the other end of the scale, he designed the Lute Suites: seven small, fully decorated Amsterdam houses pitched as 'the perfect place to work and play, to meet and connect to the Dutch'.
Where in Hong Kong can I buy his work? Design Link, 11 St Francis Street, Wan Chai, tel: 3118 8728.
