PAST EXHIBITION

The eye-opening sofa bed

Seven designers respond to Martin Visser’s classics

The year 2020 marks sixty years since the prominent Dutch designer Martin Visser (1922-2007) created his famous BR02 sofa bed for the Dutch furniture maker Spectrum. The sofa bed has been in permanent production ever since, just like several other of his popular designs from the 1960s. Until today, Martin Visser’s designs remain innovative and much-loved.

Visser was Spectrum’s chief designer for many years. He also managed to recruit many other important designers for the company, including Constant Nieuwenhuys, Benno Premsela, Friso Kramer and Gerrit Rietveld. Visser collected work by Cobra artists and had his house designed by Rietveld.

To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the BR02 sofa bed, seven prominent Dutch designers of today pay tribute to Martin Visser. Marcel Wanders, Kiki Van Eijk, Richard Hutten, Jan des Bouvrie, Carolina Wilcke & Reinier Bosch, Piet Hein Eek and Sabine Marcelis have each created work inspired by Martin Visser’s designs. Jan des Bouvrie died on October the 4th. 

Centraal Museum will display the results alongside Martin Visser’s own designs.

The video below illustrates the upholstery process and shows the making of of the campaign images. 

You want to know more about the designers and the work they made for the exhibition?
Click on the picture below and a magazine about the exhibition opens in an other window. 

Photo: Benning&Gladkova
Galerie Eenwerk / Barend Koolhaas