Exhibitions
They are all Italian and all in some way draw on the theme of memory. This is true even when they deal with current sporting events associated with the imminent inauguration of the Winter Olympics. There are ten of them and for the most part they are held in the most reserved cultural circuits, outside the mainstream. It’s even better when they’re out of town, bringing historic residences to life with gleams and flashes of good design
Manon - courtesy photo © Dries Otten
Colourblocks, assertive volumes, playful details and bold contrasts: Dries Otten’s spatial poetics take in all these ingredients and translates them into spaces imbued with his vision of interior design, decidedly flamboyant but far from ostentatious
Name: Dries Otten.
Place where you work: Antwerp.
Your Instagram account: @driesotten
Describe your job: Adding a dreamlike quality to the pragmatism of furniture design, interior architecture and scenography.
Where did you study? At the Henry van de Velde Institute, Antwerp.
Dries Otten - photo © Rizon Parein
The project you have been following/are working on at the moment: A bakery, a print shop, private mansions in Antwerp, Brussels, Lille (France) and Amsterdam (Holland)…
Your dream project: A Brutalist holiday home on a cliff with a small workshop and steps down to the sea.
The project (by others) that has influenced you the most: Everything Huib Hoste has ever designed.
A crucial element/detail in all your projects: Pragmatism
Disco Dining, Sien & Pieter Jan - courtesy photo © Dries Otten
City centre or far-flung places? Cities in winter and the country in summer.
Something you have at home designed by you: We live in our showroom, so at the moment I use Danzan and Altare furniture for my vinyl and my record player, there are Bastos lights dotted about the place and a prototype of the Misfit next to a Japon bench, and there are some small Tondis armchairs near the shop window.
CBGB - photo © Kaatje Verschoren
What do you like to collect on walks? A suntan.
If you could build a secret passage in the house, where would it lead? To a sunny swimming pool or to a spa (for winter).
What do you usually do on Sundays? Bike rides, go to exhibitions, meet friends and eat a lot.
Your favourite place in Milan: I’ve only been to Milan once, to help a friend put his gallery show together. I remember the food was delicious.
Studio MOMU, fashion museum in Antwerp - photo © Jef Jacobs
DWA Studio would like to ask you: designer or anonymous furniture? Obviously I really like designer furniture, but since design is also often used as an emblem of social status, I would say that rather than design icons I prefer flea markets where I might pick up something really unusual.
Would you like to ask the next interviewee a question? What would you like to drink?
