3rd October 2018

A chat with Onno Adriaanse

From a table base made from an arch of squidgy foam to a lamp inspired but the movement of the falling pages of a book, the work of Dutch designer Onno Adriaanse is one part material innovation and one part poetry.

The Design Academy Eindhoven graduate works in the intersection of design and art – many of his pieces are functional, the aforementioned foam Antithesis table for example, but also pose bigger questions. His Foamed series subverts the characteristics of foam – fragile, soft, unstable – to create a piece of furniture with what Onno calls a ‘visual tension’. His work challenges our expectations of materials, creating an unexpected moment of joy (sometimes even humour) when you realise that a table leg or cabinet shelf is actually soft and bouncy.

When Onno exhibited as part of Dutch Invertual’s Mutant Matter exhibition in Milan earlier this year, we were struck by the unusual, squeezable nature of his Foamed series and wanted to know more. Here he is in his own words…

Foam Series (Black edition) by Onno Adriaanse.

Dutch design has such a distinctive reputation internationally, what are the benefits and challenges of being a ‘Dutch designer’?

The benefit of being a ‘Dutch designer’ is that we can experiment a lot – we don't have to follow the given path. For some reason, people accept Dutch design as being a bit provocative. I think Dutch design is known for its fresh and unconventional style, for example using strange combinations of materials and techniques, smart and innovative solutions, and combining multiple disciplines together. Design can sometimes be described as ‘slick furniture’, like a smooth new Italian couch or table. But I think Dutch design has more humour in it. I don't really feel a challenge being a Dutch designer. There are a lot of us so you have to find your own style and keep your head up.

Do you find audiences in different countries respond to your work in different ways?

It depends on the person, whether they like a project, or so-called Dutch Design or not. For example, with my Foamed series, I sometimes get questioned about the use or function of having a foam cabinet? I made the cabinet to show that if we use a material in a different way a lot of news possibilities pop up. And of course, I made it to surprise and fascinate people that foam can be used in a constructive way. The cabinet is totally useful, but that was not the goal. Is this Dutch design?

Onno Adriaanse.

All your projects are quite different, is there a common thread that unites your work?

The thread is searching to use materials in different ways. I have made cabinets with polarisation filters, foam tables and cabinets, and tried to use light as a material. Also, in all of my projects there is a certain surprise, something unexpected. I try to accomplish a sensorial experience for the user. But for now I will focus mostly on the Foamed series. I really like the possibilities of the material and have many shapes I still want to make.

How do you balance creating highly experimental pieces with the need to sell them?

That's a hard one. I enjoy making the pieces as they are now and I am afraid that if I start shaping them towards what I know people will buy, they’ll start losing their purpose. I want to be free to make non-economical choices, but when you’re starting a design studio this can be hard. So I do have a great side-job within a bigger design studio to pay the bills and what's left I invest in my projects. Slowly I’m getting more attention and have more people interested in buying my pieces. Hard work, but I really enjoy it!

Flux by Onno Adriaanse.

Where is the line between art and design, and how does your work navigate it? 

I don’t really think there is a line between art and design, or at least not the traditional line of ‘functional/not functional’. Maybe it depends on whether the artist calls it art or design, or maybe even the viewer. I make functional products, but the function is not always the main purpose or goal. More and more crossovers are happening at the moment, so why make such a hard line?

What projects do you have coming up?

I'm working on a new addition to the Foamed family for Dutch Design Week 2018. At the moment the touch of the foam coating has the feel of orange skin. I want to try different finishes and see what happens if I change the structure of the foam before coating. I'm also working on a big project for a hotel in Amsterdam. It is already taking some time in development so I can't wait to show you the final design when it is ready later this year.

Spectrum by Onno Adriaanse.

Keen to find out more about Onno’s experimental approach? Check out this feature on Dutch Invertual’s Milan show here.

Work in progress, Onno Adriaanse.

Flux by Onno Adriaanse.

Read about the material experimentations of Onno and nine other designers in this feature on Mutant Matter here.