Belgian artist and designer Bram Vanderbeke has built a practice around the relationship between objects, architecture and their users. His tactile, sculptural work combines raw materials, form and function, often occupying the space between art, design and architecture.
Vanderbeke studied woodwork and construction before studying design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and Design Academy Eindhoven. Although he initially wanted to become a bricklayer, he went on to develop an artistic and design career in his hometown.
His latest collaboration with Belgian jeweler Lore Van Keer translates the visual language of Van Keer’s Anthology jewelry collection into furniture. The LVK x BV collection includes a silver necklace and the Anthology Side Table/Stool, produced in limited editions of 20 and eight pieces, respectively.
The stool combines alternating layers of cast concrete and aluminum. Each piece is handcrafted in Vanderbeke’s Belgian atelier using a new mold, making every example unique. Designed for indoor or outdoor use, it is made to order.
Van Keer invited Vanderbeke to reinterpret the Anthology collection as a furniture piece. He focused on the jewelry’s stacked forms, along with its use of circles and hexagons. The Anthology 10 ring was a particular reference, inspiring a three-dimensional composition based on repeated structures and alternating materials.
Architecture provided another source of direction. While looking through Isamu Noguchi’s monograph A Sculptor’s World in his atelier, Vanderbeke found inspiration in the layered aluminum ceiling Noguchi designed for the lobby of 666 Fifth Avenue in New York. He adapted a similar sense of architectural layering for the side table.
Vanderbeke also points to excavations and ancient ruins, particularly the rough, stacked forms and textures of Roman columns. That interest connects the project to his Cast Bricks collection, from which he borrowed elements for the Anthology piece.
His approach is rooted in construction. For the Brick Chair, Vanderbeke arranged standard bricks in methodical but intuitive compositions, creating negative spaces that function as molds for architectural furniture. The technique refers to the way construction workers build foundations and recalls his childhood interest in bricklaying.
Beyond architecture and material experimentation, Vanderbeke cites Insel Hombroich, a museum and sculpture park in Neuss, Germany, as a lasting influence. He was particularly affected by how returning in different seasons changed the relationship between the landscape and the works. Hardcore punk has also shaped his practice through its DIY ethos and close-knit community.
Vanderbeke is a cofounder of Brut Collective, the Belgian collectible design group established in 2018. This fall, the group organized Cavea, an exhibition featuring more than 70 works by more than 40 designers with DesignUnDisciplined. His recent projects also include designs for the reopened museum shop at Design Museum Gent and commissions for Bottega Veneta, Kelly Wearstler, Pieter Mulier and Lore Van Keer.
Sources: Design Milk.