ROMANTIC ACTIVITY shows works by kindred spirits Stand Van Zaken (consisting of Doorzon interior architects and Theo De Meyer) and Stefanie De Vos.
About Stefanie De Vos
Stefanie De Vos makes paintings, drawings and installations that subtly reveal her background in architecture. She applies several layers of colour and graphic elements to canvas, paper or acrylic glass. The works on acrylic glass consist of different transparent plates which she paints separately and then stacks in front of each other, creating a play of depth, light and colour. The lines, surfaces and colours form a kind of ephemeral architecture within the acrylic box. The works on paper or canvas create the same sense of space in one plane, whereas the ceramic objects function on the scale of a room, accentuating it with their colours and textures.
Stefanie works intuitively. Coincidence and the uncontrolled are key to her process, but her work never becomes chaotic. She sets off from a clear structure. Within that structure there is room for variation and improvisation. Her visual work is a celebration of freedom, the romantic activity par excellence.
Stefanie lives and works in Vienna, where she has exhibited at Krinzinger Projekte. In Belgium she has exhibited at WARP Sint-Niklaas and at Galerie Tatjana Pieters.
About Stand Van Zaken
The Stand Van Zaken collection is the result of collaborations between Stefanie Everaert and Caroline Lateur of Doorzon interior architects, Theo De Meyer and more than 45 people, ranging from graphic designers to writers, craftsmen and photographers.
Stand Van Zaken is a snapshot of an ever-ongoing process. For ROMANTIC ACTIVITY, Stefanie, Caroline and Theo propose a ‘living room’ around the existing stove in Casa Argentaurum, which contains all the archetypical domestic pieces of furniture: a chair, a cupboard, a stool, a table and a lamp.
All of these pieces share the same starting point: freedom of thought and the pleasure of creation. They are usually made of ordinary building materials used in unexpected and clever ways: sewer pipes made of grès ceramic become the leg of a table; ventilation pipes become a lamp; polyethylene sheet—used for cutting boards—becomes a table top; concrete forming plywood sheets build a modular cabinet. These simple, industrial materials are treated with respect and precision, giving them a special appeal.
The creative freedom that lies at the origin of this furniture also extends to its functionality. The pieces exceed the user’s expectations due to their flexibility. For example, the modular cupboard can be raised or lowered, or split, or compactly packed and easily rebuilt. The sofa’s geometric foam blocks can be used to sit, lie, relax or work, alone or with several people. The Table Lybou, designed for a lyceum, can also take on different constellations.
Theo, Stefanie and Caroline live and work in Ghent. Caroline and Stefanie started their careers in Maarten Van Severen’s studio and founded Doorzon interior architects in 2005. Theo has his own architectural practice, teaches as an assistant at ETH Zurich and also works as a project architect.
Download Stand Van Zaken works & price list