Dutch Designer Joris Laarman Is Making Furniture For the Future, As Seen In his First U.S. Museum Exhibition
Joris Laarman thinks big. A pioneering force at the frontier of design, art, and engineering, the 37-year-old Dutch designer makes 3-D-printed bridges, tables constructed with the aid of industrial robots, and chairs that can be downloaded from the internet. “Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age”—the first U.S. museum exhibition of his work, opening September 27 (through January 14, 2018) at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York—affords us a closer look at his haute-cerebral brand of futurism. “Laarman is more of a cross between a scientist and an artist than a conventional designer,” notes Mark Wilson, the exhibition’s co-curator. “There are undeniable references to the past, but his materials and processes are as innovative as the end results.”
Joris Laarman Lab, Bone Armchair, 2007. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab, Aluminum Gradient Chair, from Microstructures series, 2014. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab; Detail, Aluminum Gradient Chair, from Microstructures series, 2014. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Rendering, MX3D Bridge in the MX3D workshop; Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab’s Kilovoxel, Megavoxel, and Gigavoxel tables, from Digital Matter series, 2011. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab’s Heatwave Radiator, 2003. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab’s Dragon Bench, 2014. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Installation, Ivy. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab’s Puzzle Chair, from Makerchair series, 2014. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab’s Diagonal Resin, Maze, Diamond, Puzzle Wood, and Diagonal Wood chairs, from Makerchair series, 2014. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman Lab
Joris Laarman. Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman Lab