A Lot of Work is the first monograph to present Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen both together and as individual artists, charting fifteen years of the Belgian design studio's restlessly inventive practice through private and public archives.
About This Book
Structured as a collage rather than a conventional retrospective, A Lot of Work resists the tidy linearity of most design monographs. Drawing from the personal and professional archives of Muller Van Severen, the book lets images speak through adjacency — proximity and contrast generating meaning where captions and chronology would otherwise impose it. Hannes Van Severen describes the result not as a retrospective but as a pause, a breath taken after fifteen years of sustained creative labour. Edited by Nicolás Barreto and Apartamento co-founder Nacho Alegre, the book sits between art object and design document, tracing the duo's shared visual language while also mapping their divergent solo practices. Essential reading for anyone serious about contemporary Belgian design and the boundaries of the design monograph form.
Key Features
- 224 pages of archival photography, studio documentation, and collage-structured visual narrative
- Edited by Nicolás Barreto and Nacho Alegre (co-founder, Apartamento)
- Opening text by Hannes Van Severen
- Published by Apartamento, ISBN 9788409833443
What You'll Discover
- How Muller Van Severen use the collage form to interrogate rather than celebrate their own archive — cutting, rearranging, and unsettling rather than enshrining
- The distinct solo trajectories of Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen alongside the shared design sensibility that defines their collaborative practice
- What fifteen years of sustained studio practice looks like when examined through private material not previously made public
- How Apartamento's editorial approach transforms the design monograph into something closer to an asynchronous visual narrative than a career survey
About the Author
Nicolás Barreto edited this volume alongside Nacho Alegre, co-founder of Apartamento. Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen are the founding partners of the Belgian design studio Muller Van Severen, whose fifteen-year practice spans furniture, objects, and spatial installations.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 224
- Dimensions: 29.7 x 21 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9788409833443
- Publisher: Apartamento
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Designers, collectors, and curators with an interest in contemporary Belgian design, studio practice, and the art of the design monograph