Belgian design studio Muller Van Severen celebrated its fifteenth anniversary during Milan Design Week 2026 with Silhouettes: Celebrating 15 Years, an exhibition presented by Apartamento and Tim Van Laere Gallery at Ordet. Rather than staging a conventional retrospective, the exhibition transformed the duo’s most recognizable forms into abstract sculptural objects that reflected on their evolving design language.
Known internationally for combining furniture, sculpture, and architecture through minimalist compositions and vivid material contrasts, Muller Van Severen approached the anniversary as an opportunity to revisit recurring motifs through reduction and abstraction. Consequently, the exhibition emphasized continuity and transformation rather than chronology.
Signature Forms Reduced to Abstract Silhouettes
The exhibition featured fifteen aluminum candle holders, each referencing archetypal forms from the studio’s previous works, including chairs, cabinets, lamps, vases, and freestanding sculptural structures. However, instead of reproducing these objects directly, the duo reduced them to simplified silhouettes that balanced familiarity with ambiguity.
Through this process, the works explored the tension between functional design and abstract sculpture. The recognizable outlines hinted at domestic objects while simultaneously resisting direct identification. Accordingly, the exhibition reinforced the studio’s long-standing interest in creating pieces that exist between utility and artistic expression.
Each sculpture was topped with a large colored candle, introducing a performative and temporal dimension into the installation. As the candles burned throughout the exhibition, dripping wax gradually altered the appearance of the objects and transformed the static compositions into evolving visual environments.
Material Clarity and Contemporary Design
Presented within the wider context of Salone del Mobile, Silhouettes also highlighted Muller Van Severen’s sustained focus on balance, reduction, and material clarity. Aluminum surfaces, simplified geometry, and restrained forms reflected the studio’s consistent approach to contemporary design over the past fifteen years.
At the same time, the exhibition underscored the increasing overlap between collectible design, installation art, and gallery presentation formats within Milan’s design landscape. By using candle holders as sculptural devices rather than purely functional objects, the duo extended their practice into a more experiential territory shaped by time, atmosphere, and interaction.
Founded by Belgian artists Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, the studio has become one of the most influential voices in contemporary European design through its ability to merge sculptural sensitivity with domestic functionality. Therefore, Silhouettes functioned not only as an anniversary exhibition but also as a reflection on how the duo’s visual vocabulary continues to evolve within contemporary design culture.