Turnhout - Wednesday 19th of July
Flanders on repeat. At the Vitra shop in Antwerp, we were tipped to visit Master Meubel in Turnhout, for a large collection of design classics.
In the showroom of Master Meubel there is a permanent exhibition of the history of the 'Masters', the master furniture designers who are the basis of design furniture and the design classics in design furniture.
Before an object becomes a design classic, some time must first pass that determines what lasting impact the design has had on society and what influence the object has on later designs. The designs of classics are often remarkably simple, in essence, and are described with words such as icon, pure, valuable or meaningful.
In the Master Gallery in the showroom, well-known furniture is exhibited from Eero Saarinen, Arne Jacobsen, Charles & Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Michael Thonet, Verner Panton and many more.
The most surprising 'new' design piece (in my opinion) was the 'duo seat' by Muller van Severen. This object juxtaposes two seats made of lacquered steel and textile. The rectangular shape of the object contrasts with the arc-shaped cloths. The back rail of one seating becomes the arm of the second one. The simplest way of designing a seat, gordious!
After the surprising and inspiring visit we drove on to the nearby center of Turnhout and had lunch at Cafe Sorbonne and went for a city walk in the 'small' city center.
