Following on from former Nacho Carbonell intern Pascal Howe at the DMY Design Gallery Berlin, an exhibition by a designer whose work we first saw in a hall about 25 metres from Nacho Carbonell's atelier in Eindhoven's so-called Sectie C - one of several former industrial areas in the city that now serve as reservations of creatives and so help fuel Eindhoven's reputation as one of Europe's creative capitals.
It was Dutch Design Week 2012 and our photos of Eindhoven Design Academy graduate Niek van der Heijden's Closet Bench project were the very the last photos we took from that year's festival.
And the very last photos we took of Niek's work. Fate and bad timing meaning that since October 2012 we have had no opportunity to follow his development "in the flesh"
Until now.
Under the title "Assemblage" the DAD Galerie Berlin is currently presenting four new works by Niek van der Heijden, four works which although at first glance appear dissociated all beautifully illustrate Niek's belief that, "everything we need already exists, and when you start combining existing objects you not only create new objects but new relationships and new meanings"
In essence Niek van der Heijden crafts scrap, waste and other detritus of our (post) industrial age to new objects. Objects which exude unmistakable references to Russian constructivism, Bauhaus modernism or Art Deco lavishness and objects which despite their origins possess an untroubled lightness. Window in Vice, for example, is a massive piece of old skool industrial brutality, yet a composition which soothes like a benevolent harvest moon hanging in a clear autumn sky. Or the Galaxy Cabinets which look so brittle one fears the slightest draught will bring them crashing in on themselves. It wont. They wont. An ingenious stability mechanism ensuring their steadfastness.
Niek's work is experimental, its not about developing objects for mass production, creating commercial products, and far less about up-cycling to create aesthetically pleasing lifestyle objects, but is principally about the creative process, and ultimately about the resulting dialogues between user and object. Generally Niek knows what type of object he is looking to make: but how it will look, what form it will have and how it will work arises during the construction process. And despite the composed clarity and coherence of the works, Niek's development process relies on instinct, spontaneity, and of course the available materials, rather than any pre-conceived plan. Something which of course poses the question about the functionality, or at least Niek's understanding of and relation to functionality "Most of my pieces have a function, but their practicality isn't the most important aspect", explains Niek, "For me the most important thing is to create an object with an atmosphere I am comfortable with and which can transfer this atmosphere to the location where the object stands. Essentially I give the users some elements from which they then develop their own story, their owing meaning for the object and so a functionality."
Living Forum, the largest object on display, perfectly illustrates this principle. Currently comprising three connected chairs and a sofa, over the course of the weekend 2nd to 5th May Niek will add further elements - a visit to Berlin scrapyards to collect the raw materials has already been undertaken - and so create an enclosed ensemble of table, chairs and sofas designed to encourage interaction amongst users, or in Niek's words, "Living Forum is the opposite of Internet forums where I feel most of the communication is false, insincere and impersonal. Here one is in direct contact." One isn't necessarily more honest in face-to-face contact than in virtual contact, but you can't avoid your contrahand.
In addition to the furniture objects "Niek van der Heijden - Assemblage" also includes a table presenting examples of Niek's material studies and experimentation. Many of the processes presented on the experimental table can be found in the completed objects, thus allowing the visitor to better understand both how Niek arrived at the finished works and also the process of experimentation and thought that enabled him to even begin to move in such a direction. The patina on the copper Galaxy Cabinet, for example, is no patina, but the result of a manual discolouration process developed by Niek.
Niek van der Heijden isn't the only designer currently working so close to the borders of art and design, nor is he the only designer creating new objects from other people's waste, but in the aesthetic he gives his objects, in the innovation he brings to his construction, in the fundamental material research he undertakes, in his eye for detail, in his understanding of composition and in the conceptual basis on which the works are based, he is without question one of the most interesting.
And is certainly a designer whose work we can recommend getting to know. For us "Assemblage" is a delightful re-introduction to Niek's work, for those who have previously not been exposed to Niek van der Heijden, "Assemblage" is an excellent place to start.
Niek van der Heijden - Assemblage runs at DAD Galerie, Oranienburger Straße 27 ( Kunsthof ), 10117 Berlin until Saturday May 24th.
Further details on Niek van der Heijden and his work can be found at www.niekvanderheijden.nl
