At the intersection of art, music, and boundaries, the Crescendo! exhibition at Galerie Ron Mandos unveils the creative vision of Maarten Baas, offering a unique perspective on contemporary art.
Renowned for pushing limits, challenging conventions, and blurring the line between design and art, Dutch designer Maarten Baas presents Crescendo!, a bold new chapter in his artistic journey. Running until March 9, 2025, this exhibition marks his first solo show in his home country.
A fusion of music, sculpture, and conceptual art, Crescendo! urges viewers to reconsider the meaning of art beyond functionality and explore the deep connection between music and aesthetics. Baas, widely celebrated for his playful and unconventional approach to design, has long transformed everyday objects into surreal, theatrical pieces. However, with Crescendo!, he makes a striking shift—from design to fine art.
While the exhibition includes some of his iconic furniture pieces, the spotlight is on his new sculptures and installations, which explore the tension between freedom and limitation in art. Commenting on Baas’s transition, gallery founder Ron Mandos notes: “In Crescendo!, Maarten boldly steps into new territory. Yet, true to his style, he takes a critical look at the art world. What is the true value of art? What happens when musical instruments are broken or suspended? For me, these new works symbolically reflect the budget cuts in art and culture.”
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Music as a Metaphor
The title of the exhibition, Crescendo!, refers to a musical term describing a gradual increase in volume and intensity. However, for Maarten Baas, the meaning extends beyond music—it embodies the challenges, limitations, and potential of art and creativity.
At the heart of the exhibition are musical instruments, which serve a dual role: as symbols of freedom, creativity, and expression, but also as representations of fragility and constraints. Baas reflects on this balance, stating: “Instruments fascinate me because they create something intangible yet deeply moving—music. But at the same time, we live in a world governed by economic values and practical imperatives. It’s a balance we all experience daily; reality is often not as romantic as we imagine it to be.”
Featured Installations: Between Art and Reality
One of the most striking installations in Crescendo! features two grand pianos suspended from the ceiling, their legs crawling along the floor. The unsettling yet thought-provoking image evokes a slaughterhouse scene, highlighting how objects—and perhaps art itself—can be stripped of their original purpose and reduced to mere commodities.
In another piece, Baas challenges the physical constraints of the gallery. He takes trumpets too large to fit through the exhibition doors and compresses them into sculptural forms small enough to fit inside a mailbox. The work serves as a powerful metaphor for the struggle with physical and economic limitations in art.
At the center of the exhibition is Variations in E Minor, a mesmerizing installation of 56 spherical objects arranged like an orchestra. These abstract forms resemble musical instruments, yet their sounds seem trapped, visually expressing the tension between freedom and restriction in both music and art.
A dedicated section of the exhibition offers a retrospective look at Maarten Baas’ 20-year career, showcasing the evolution of his artistic vision. Among the key works on display is his breakthrough student project, Hey, Chair, Be a Bookshelf!, where he challenged conventional design by transforming a chair into a bookshelf. His later work, Close Parity, drew inspiration from children’s intuitive logic, demonstrating his signature playful and humorous approach to design.
This retrospective space highlights Baas’ continuous exploration of the balance between big ideas and practical realities. Crescendo! is not just his first major step into the world of fine art, but also a deep reflection on the role of art today. As visitors move through the exhibition, they are left with lingering questions:
What happens when an instrument is no longer played? Is a piano still a piano when it hangs from the ceiling? Does a trumpet lose its sound when it is compressed beyond recognition? These thought-provoking inquiries remain long after leaving the gallery, ensuring that Crescendo! resonates far beyond its walls.
