Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen will celebrate its 15th anniversary during Salone del Mobile 2026 with the exhibition Silhouettes: Celebrating 15 Years, presented in collaboration with Apartamento and Tim Van Laere Gallery in Milan.
© Muller van Severen
Hosted at Ordet from 19 to 26 April, the exhibition brings together fifteen unique, life-size aluminium candle holders that reinterpret key motifs from the duo's body of work. The pieces draw on recurring forms such as chairs, cabinets, lamps and vases, as well as earlier explorations by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, transforming them into abstract compositions.
Each object is described as "an abstract reinterpretation of recurring motifs… reduced to their contours, to silhouettes that abandon their original function and emerge as autonomous signs in space." Through processes such as rotation, inversion and closure, familiar typologies are stripped back to their essential outlines, shifting from functional design to sculptural presence.
The use of aluminium as a uniform material reinforces the collection's formal clarity, while the installation is conceived as a cohesive yet dynamic ensemble. A defining element of the exhibition is the integration of large coloured candles atop each structure, introducing what is described as "a temporal dimension." As the candles burn, the objects undergo "a slow and irreversible transformation," emphasising time as an active component of the work.
The exhibition explores "the subtle boundary between recognition and abstraction," inviting both informed and new audiences to engage with the work on different levels. For those familiar with the duo's practice, fragments of known forms remain visible, while others encounter the pieces as independent, abstract entities.
Rather than marking a conclusion, Silhouettes is positioned as "a celebration with an act of a pause within an ongoing exploration," reflecting Muller Van Severen's continued investigation into reduction, balance and spatial tension.
Founded in 2011, the Antwerp-based duo has developed an internationally recognised design language that merges art, architecture and function. The Milan exhibition underscores their influence within contemporary European design, highlighting a practice defined by material clarity, colour and a dialogue between object and space.
More information:
Muller Van Severen
[email protected]
www.mullervanseveren.be
